Edgar Lomax Co. VA Has $2.42 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Edgar Lomax Co. VA lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,640 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,700 shares during the quarter. Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 8.6% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 335,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,158,000 after purchasing an additional 26,624 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,522,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,677,000 after purchasing an additional 44,303 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $797,587,000 after buying an additional 814,665 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after buying an additional 1,599,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in Altria Group by 155.4% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 31,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,062,000 after buying an additional 18,997 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MO. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock 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 given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $67.06 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.82 and a fifty-two week high of $70.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.64. The firm has a market cap of $112.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G 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 EPS 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%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

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.