Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $73.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $122.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.02 and its 200 day moving average is $63.05. Altria Group has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4.76 billion for 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%.Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.68 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. This trade 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 239.2% during the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 52,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,000 after acquiring an additional 36,899 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 26.6% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 951,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,762,000 after purchasing an additional 199,854 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 32.2% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,088,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,826,000 after purchasing an additional 265,221 shares during the last quarter. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 18.9% in the first quarter. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC now owns 7,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 373.0% in the first quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 27,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 21,921 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Altria Group

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.