Y.D. More Investments Ltd Has $265,000 Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 24.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,516 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $58.17. The stock had a trading volume of 768,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,878,701. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.08 and a 1-year high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.87.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The business 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%.The business’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 7.3%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.92%.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.33.

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.