Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 1.3% – Here’s Why

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price dropped 1.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $68.45 and last traded at $68.62. 7,023,648 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 9,265,537 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $114.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $69.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.14.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 33.99% and a negative return on equity of 315.29%. The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $1.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kathryn McQuade bought 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.62 per share, for a total transaction of $101,430.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 114,929 shares in the company, valued at $7,771,498.98. This trade represents a 1.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 126,073,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,070,964,000 after buying an additional 1,325,175 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,147,141 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,984,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,651,383,000 after acquiring an additional 729,999 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,806,782,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,104,566,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its operating companies, Altria develops, manufactures and markets cigarettes, cigars, oral tobacco products, nicotine pouches and electronic vaping products, with its business focused primarily on the United States.

Altria’s smokeable products portfolio includes Marlboro cigarettes, which are manufactured and marketed in the U.S. by Philip Morris USA, as well as Black & Mild cigars through John Middleton.