Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 201,179 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,635 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $10,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tyler Stone Wealth Management grew its stake in Altria Group by 94.1% in the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 72,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,711,000 after acquiring an additional 35,247 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 67,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,434,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Ted Buchan & Co raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the third quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 12,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the period. RKL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 111,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,680,000 after purchasing an additional 17,887 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $53.94. 5,608,882 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,819,452. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $55.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $51.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.56%. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.33.

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.