Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $1.73 Million Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 33,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,726,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock worth $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock worth $2,193,687,000 after buying an additional 1,134,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Altria Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company's stock worth $1,164,681,000 after purchasing an additional 76,004 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock worth $859,257,000 after buying an additional 1,444,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company's stock worth $617,124,000 after buying an additional 983,328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.59. 1,758,111 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,641,186. The company has a fifty day moving average of $58.19 and a 200 day moving average of $55.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, 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.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.34%.

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.