Machina Capital S.A.S. Has $781,000 Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Machina Capital S.A.S. has reduced its stake in Altria Group by 28%, now holding 13,011 shares valued at approximately $781,000.
• Analysts have mixed opinions; Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from "buy" to "hold," while UBS Group upgraded it from "sell" to "neutral," raising its price target from $47 to $59.
• Altria recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 6.82%.

Machina Capital S.A.S. lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 28.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,011 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,062 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vista Investment Partners II LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 37.8% in the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.3% in the first quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 8,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.61 during trading on Monday, hitting $59.24. 2,398,166 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,145,554. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.57 and a 52 week high of $61.26. The company has a market cap of $99.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.14.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MO. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.75.

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.