Martingale Asset Management L P Trims Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 8.6%, selling 52,279 shares and retaining 556,295 shares, which now comprise 0.8% of its portfolio.
• Several other institutional investors have changed their positions in Altria Group, with Sierra Ocean LLC increasing its holdings by 226.3% during the first quarter.
• Analysts show mixed sentiments toward Altria Group, with a consensus rating of Hold and a target price average of $59.13, while Jefferies Financial Group placed an "underperform" rating with a $50 price target.

Martingale Asset Management L P lowered its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 556,295 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,279 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up approximately 0.8% of Martingale Asset Management L P's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Altria Group were worth $33,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 51.8% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.13.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $67.5210 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $113.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $67.87.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.