Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Has $1.49 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,435 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,201 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of MO opened at $56.45 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.08 and a 12 month high of $68.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.11 and its 200-day moving average is $61.89. The firm has a market cap of $94.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.