Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 2.5% After Insider Buying Activity

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares rose 2.5% during trading on Monday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $71.05 and last traded at $70.6860. 7,813,403 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 9,256,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.98.

Specifically, Director Kathryn McQuade purchased 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $67.62 per share, with a total value of $101,430.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 114,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,771,498.98. The trade was a 1.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, July 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $69.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.11. The company has a market capitalization of $118.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released 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 firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.99% and a negative return on equity of 315.29%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. On average, equities research 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 668,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,531,000 after acquiring an additional 44,267 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 38,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,569,000 after purchasing an additional 14,490 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,336,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 665,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,361,000 after purchasing an additional 15,728 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.6% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 266,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,696,000 after purchasing an additional 21,124 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.