Principal Street Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Principal Street Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 122,117 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,961 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up approximately 1.0% of Principal Street Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Principal Street Partners LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.58. 7,780,214 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,718,956. The stock has a market cap of $97.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $57.60. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $51.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.81.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 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.