Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,527 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $31,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MO stock opened at $65.70 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $65.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.