First Trust Advisors LP Cuts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,767,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 528,550 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.34% of Altria Group worth $380,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% in the second 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,264,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $413,815,000 after buying an additional 1,249,525 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Altria Group by 1,094.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,919,000 after buying an additional 1,061,413 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,315,438,000 after buying an additional 886,583 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Altria Group Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of MO stock opened at $66.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $111.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.82 and a 12 month high of $70.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 103.16%.

About Altria Group

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.