Machina Capital S.A.S. Decreases Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Machina Capital S.A.S. lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 72.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,559 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,452 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the second quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 151.9% in the second quarter. Burney Co. now owns 19,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 12,006 shares in the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $553,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 174.8% in the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 245,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,398,000 after purchasing an additional 156,204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $57.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.91. The firm has a market cap of $96.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.08 and a 1-year high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. 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 declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 7.4%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.