Ellen Strahlman Sells 2,000 Shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Director Ellen Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,401.12. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $69.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.02. The stock has a market cap of $116.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.48. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.70 and a 1-year high of $74.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.34% and a negative return on equity of 298.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Viking Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 202,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,647,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $797,587,000 after purchasing an additional 814,665 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 13.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 144,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,561,000 after purchasing an additional 17,429 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 603,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,889,000 after purchasing an additional 18,626 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,926,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.44.

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.