Caprock Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,511 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,648 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MO. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 286.7% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,479,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,929,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321,262 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 19.4% during 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 438.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,637,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,749,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962,270 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth $89,460,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 24.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,264,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $413,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249,525 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays upped 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report 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 on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.88.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $65.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $108.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.41. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $70.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $66.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.61 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Altria Group 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.