CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. Makes New $636,000 Investment in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. has made a new investment of approximately $636,000 in Altria Group, acquiring 10,600 shares during the first quarter.
• Altria Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.06 per share, reflecting a change from the previous $1.02 and indicating a yield of 6.4%.
• The company's latest earnings report showed $1.44 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' estimates, alongside a revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter.

CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $636,000. Altria Group comprises 0.8% of CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 158,117,225 shares of the company's stock worth $9,490,196,000 after buying an additional 1,300,787 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company's stock worth $3,798,592,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483,487 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8,146.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company's stock worth $1,122,290,000 after acquiring an additional 18,471,846 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,243,041 shares of the company's stock worth $734,827,000 after acquiring an additional 441,083 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 40.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock worth $717,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,415,237 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $66.52 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.56 and a 200-day moving average of $59.78. The company has a market capitalization of $111.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $5.29 billion during 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%.Altria Group's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, equities 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 78.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on 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 Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.88.

About Altria Group

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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