Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Invests $275,000 in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. has taken a new position in Altria Group, acquiring 4,587 shares valued at approximately $275,000 in Q1.
• Altria Group has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.06 per share, offering a yield of 6.4% and indicating a positive change from the previous dividend of $1.02.
• Several analysts have updated their ratings and price targets for Altria Group, with Bank of America lifting its target from $64 to $72 and issuing a "buy" rating.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC boosted 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 during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2%

MO traded up $0.15 on Thursday, hitting $66.38. 4,631,811 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,949,019. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $63.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.94.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.88.

Altria Group 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.