33,889 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. $MO Purchased by Milestone Asset Management LLC

Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 33,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,954,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 286.7% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,479,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,929,000 after buying an additional 3,321,262 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,285,575,000 after buying an additional 3,172,753 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 438.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,637,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,749,000 after buying an additional 2,962,270 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $89,460,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,264,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $413,815,000 after buying an additional 1,249,525 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.88.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $65.14 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.70 and a 52-week high of $70.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.41.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced 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). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.