Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd Buys Shares of 4,089 Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd has acquired 4,089 shares of Altria Group, valued at approximately $240,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Altria Group recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.44 EPS, surpassing analysts’ expectations, and has set its FY 2025 guidance between $5.350-5.450 EPS.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $1.06, reflecting a strong annualized yield of 6.6% and a dividend payout ratio of 82.01%.

Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 51.8% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $64.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $108.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.79 and a 200 day moving average of $61.62. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.58 and a 1-year high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. 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 is 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.11.

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.

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