Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 1% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Altria Group shares rose 1% on Thursday, trading as high as $72.45 and last changing hands at $72.29. Volume was 8.6 million shares, below the stock’s recent average.
• Analysts remain mixed on MO despite several higher price targets. The stock carries an average Hold rating and a consensus price target of $69.22, even as firms like Bank of America and Stifel raised their targets.
• Recent fundamentals were solid: Altria beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, and it continues to offer a sizable dividend. The company reported $1.32 EPS versus $1.25 expected and pays a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, implying a 5.9% yield.

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $72.45 and last traded at $72.29. 8,607,491 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 10,004,285 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.22.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $120.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $66.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.92.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.34% and a negative return on equity of 298.69%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 88.70%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company's stock worth $9,282,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,903,530 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,275,886,000 after buying an additional 1,147,141 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company's stock worth $3,777,931,000 after buying an additional 6,265,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,984,718 shares of the company's stock worth $2,651,383,000 after buying an additional 729,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,306,173 shares of the company's stock worth $1,286,174,000 after acquiring an additional 335,089 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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.

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