Mechanics Financial Corp Boosts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

by · The Markets Daily

Mechanics Financial Corp boosted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,788 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.75.

View Our Latest Analysis on Altria Group

Altria Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $58.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $98.55 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.57 and a 12-month high of $61.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.71.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.34%.

Altria Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Free Report).