RK Capital Management LLC FL Cuts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

RK Capital Management LLC FL decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 87.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,600 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises about 0.0% of RK Capital Management LLC FL’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. RK Capital Management LLC FL’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Country Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 334.7% during the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $58.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $97.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.78. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.08 and a 52-week high of $68.60.

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

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.