Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,746,747 Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,746,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $91,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of Altria Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,679,000 after buying an additional 46,697 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Altria Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company's stock worth $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 54,684 shares of the company's stock worth $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 12,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 318.5% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 51,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 39,465 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO traded down $0.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.46. 5,745,950 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,735,446. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.83 and a 12-month high of $61.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $57.98 and a 200-day moving average of $55.15.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.