Insider Buying: Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Director Buys 1,500 Shares

Key Points

• Insider buying: Altria director Kathryn McQuade purchased 1,500 shares at an average price of $67.62, increasing her direct ownership to 114,929 shares.
• Dividend increase: Altria raised its quarterly dividend to $1.11 per share, equivalent to $4.44 annually and a 6.4% yield; the stock’s payout ratio is 89.45%.
• Mixed outlook: Altria’s latest earnings slightly missed expectations, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $70.11 target price. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company.

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) Director Kathryn Mcquade acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $67.62 per share, for a total transaction of $101,430.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 114,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 hyperlink.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.3%

MO traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.01. 3,552,000 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,246,020. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.70 and a 1-year high of $77.06. The stock's 50-day moving average is $69.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.11. The stock has a market cap of $115.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.The business had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of 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 reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.11.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. grew its stake in Altria Group by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 9,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 29.7% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,379,243 shares of the company's stock worth $99,237,000 after acquiring an additional 315,892 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 137,847 shares of the company's stock worth $9,918,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 29.0% in the second quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 12,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 15.5% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 20,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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