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

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

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE MO traded down $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $59.61. 5,213,972 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,668,341. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.83 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $58.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.75. The company has a market cap of $100.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The company's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.84%. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 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.