Perritt Capital Management Inc Has $485,000 Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Perritt Capital Management Inc grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 22.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,637 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares during the period. Perritt Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $485,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $53.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $91.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $50.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.29.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.68%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MO. Bank of America increased their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.67.

About Altria Group

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.