Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 1.2% – What’s Next?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price traded down 1.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $68.44 and last traded at $69.7550. Approximately 10,496,660 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 9,263,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.61.

Altria Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Altria Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Altria trades at a discount while continuing to generate steady gains and substantial shareholder distributions. Its strong brands, pricing power and high dividend yield support the bullish case if management can offset volume declines. Altria Stock Trades at a Discount: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports highlighted insider buying, which may signal that company insiders view MO’s valuation and long-term cash-generation prospects favorably. Altria Group Shares Up Following Insider Buying Activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options volume indicates increased trading interest and potentially greater near-term volatility, but it does not establish a clear directional outlook. Altria Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume
• Negative Sentiment: Dividend-focused analysis raised concerns that Altria may be paying out more than it earns under certain measures. Although its long record of dividend increases is a strength, investors are questioning how durable the payout is if earnings and volumes weaken. One of These Dividend Kings Pays Out More Than It Earns. Which Dividend Is Safer?
• Negative Sentiment: A comparison with British American Tobacco suggested BAT currently has stronger growth, valuation and smokeless-tobacco momentum, putting pressure on Altria’s investment case despite MO’s lengthy dividend-raise record. British American Tobacco vs Altria: Which High-Yield Dividend Stock Is the Better Buy

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.27 and a 200 day moving average of $69.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $1.11 dividend. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 93.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In related news, Director Kathryn McQuade bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.62 per share, for a total transaction of $101,430.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 114,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,771,498.98. This trade represents a 1.32% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 78.8% in the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 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.