Opinicus Capital Inc. Invests $211,000 in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Opinicus Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 4.5% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Bar Harbor Wealth Management increased its holdings in Altria Group by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $58.15 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.08 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $63.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.82. The company has a market cap of $97.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 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 down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.33.

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.