Altria Group, Inc. $MO Stock Holdings Lessened by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,171,742 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,085 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.25% of Altria Group worth $275,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 8.6% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 335,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,158,000 after buying an additional 26,624 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,522,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,677,000 after buying an additional 44,303 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $797,587,000 after acquiring an additional 814,665 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 155.4% during the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 31,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,062,000 after acquiring an additional 18,997 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.33.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.7%

Altria Group stock opened at $66.48 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.82 and a 52 week high of $70.51. The stock has a market cap of $111.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued 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 negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.