Cherokee Insurance Co Purchases New Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Cherokee Insurance Co acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 41,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,453,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.4% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $58.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $97.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $63.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.85. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.08 and a 1-year high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MO shares. UBS Group cut their price target on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.33.

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.