Cherokee Insurance Co Invests $2.45 Million in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Cherokee Insurance Co purchased a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 41,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,453,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in 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 last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $58.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $97.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.85. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.08 and a 1-year high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.92%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Bank of America raised their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays lifted 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.33.

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.