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

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.11.

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $71.47 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.32. Altria Group has a 52-week low of $54.70 and a 52-week high of $77.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.42.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $1.11 dividend. This is an increase 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 6.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kathryn McQuade acquired 1,500 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $67.62 per share, with a total value of $101,430.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 114,929 shares in the company, valued at $7,771,498.98. The trade was a 1.32% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 126,073,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,070,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,175 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased 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 buying an additional 1,147,141 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,806,782,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,104,566,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,929,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,194,000 after acquiring an additional 133,676 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc is a U.S.-based holding company focused primarily on tobacco and nicotine products. Through its operating companies, Altria manufactures and markets cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, oral nicotine products and electronic cigarettes. Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Marlboro cigarettes, Copenhagen and Skoal smokeless tobacco, Black & Mild cigars, NJOY e-cigarettes and on! nicotine pouches.

Altria’s principal businesses include Philip Morris USA, the largest U.S.