Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by CSM Advisors LLC

CSM Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 514,714 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,300 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up 1.0% of CSM Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. CSM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $34,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during 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 during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after acquiring an additional 886,583 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 19.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,285,575,000 after acquiring an additional 3,172,753 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,747,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,122,000 after acquiring an additional 132,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Altria Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,131,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,412,000 after acquiring an additional 47,757 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.3%

MO opened at $67.96 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.82 and a 52 week high of $70.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.61. The firm has a market cap of $113.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MO. Citigroup upped their price target on 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 report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.11.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.