Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 3% – What’s Next?

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) rose 3% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $71.84 and last traded at $71.4730. 11,198,616 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 22% from the average daily volume of 9,146,557 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Freedom Broker upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $119.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day moving average is $68.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.27.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly 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). Altria Group had a net margin of 33.99% and a negative return on equity of 315.29%. The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This is a positive change 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%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kathryn McQuade bought 1,500 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.62 per share, with a total value of $101,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 114,929 shares in the company, valued at $7,771,498.98. This trade represents a 1.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MO. Titleist Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 11,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 24.9% in the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 35,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 7,063 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 5.9% during the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 9.4% during the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,309,000 after purchasing an additional 22,125 shares during the period. Finally, Kaydan Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 6.1% during the third quarter. Kaydan Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.