Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 273,587 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,581 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $18,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after purchasing an additional 6,302,819 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1,094.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,413 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after buying an additional 886,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,587,000 after buying an additional 814,665 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE:MO opened at $67.06 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $63.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.82 and a 52-week high of $70.51. The firm has a market cap of $112.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.33.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.