Element Capital Management LLC Invests $2.84 Million in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC purchased 47,242 shares of Altria Group, Inc., valued at approximately $2,835,000, making it the firm's 5th largest holding.
• Altria Group reported earnings of $1.44 per share, beating estimates and achieving a net margin of 37.24% during the last quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Altria Group's stock, with a current average rating of "Hold" and a target price of $59.13.

Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 47,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,835,000. Altria Group makes up 0.7% of Element Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of MO traded up $0.9610 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $67.5210. 8,886,939 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,581,365. The firm has a market cap of $113.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.86 and a 12-month high of $67.87. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $60.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.56.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.13.

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.