Client First Capital LLC Invests $205,000 in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Client First Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000. Altria Group accounts for 0.1% of Client First Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.4% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth about $44,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $58.09 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.85. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.08 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 7.3%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.92%.

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.