Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.7778.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total value of $418,327.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total value of $145,120.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at $1,821,401.12. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,282,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,903,530 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,275,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,141 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,777,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,265,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,984,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,651,383,000 after purchasing an additional 729,999 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,306,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,286,174,000 after purchasing an additional 335,089 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $74.23 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group has a one year low of $54.70 and a one year high of $75.28.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 298.69% and a net margin of 34.34%.The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.70%.

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.