Milestone Asset Management LLC Takes $1.95 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Milestone Asset Management acquired a new stake of 33,889 shares in Altria valued at approximately $1.95 million in Q4, and several large institutions (Ameriprise, Northern Trust, BNY Mellon, Capital Research, JPMorgan) also boosted positions, leaving institutional ownership at 57.41%.
• Altria declared a quarterly dividend of $1.06 (annualized $4.24) implying a yield of about 6.5%; the ex-dividend date is March 25 and the payout ratio is 103.16%, indicating distributions exceed reported earnings.
• For the latest quarter Altria reported EPS of $1.30, missing estimates by $0.02, while revenue was $5.08 billion, slightly above the $5.02 billion consensus.

Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 33,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,954,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,285,575,000 after acquiring an additional 3,172,753 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,705,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,103,543,000 after acquiring an additional 59,189 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,747,828 shares of the company's stock valued at $842,122,000 after acquiring an additional 132,846 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,131,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $801,412,000 after acquiring an additional 47,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $797,587,000 after acquiring an additional 814,665 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $65.14 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $108.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $66.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.57. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.70 and a 1 year high of $70.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.Altria Group's revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.61 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.88.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Altria Group

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.