Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 1.2% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Altria shares rose 1.2% to about $69.34, with trading volume 24% below the average. Analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $70.11, reflecting mixed views ranging from “Buy” to “Sell.”
• The company slightly missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.48 in EPS versus the $1.50 consensus, while revenue of $5.36 billion exceeded estimates and increased 1.2% year over year.
• Altria raised its quarterly dividend to $1.11 per share, equal to a 6.4% annualized yield, though its payout ratio is high at 93.67%. An insider also purchased 1,500 shares, while institutional investors collectively own 57.41% of the stock.

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 1.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $69.62 and last traded at $69.3440. Approximately 6,949,258 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 9,126,810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective 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 reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $115.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.24.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm'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 forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.11 per share. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 93.67%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, Director Kathryn McQuade bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $67.62 per share, for a total transaction of $101,430.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 114,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,771,498.98. This trade represents a 1.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Kwmg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the third quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 130,289 shares of the company's stock worth $8,774,000 after buying an additional 1,911 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 94.8% in the 3rd quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 6,866 shares of the company's stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341 shares during the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 3,779 shares of the company's stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its position in Altria Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 19,571 shares of the company's stock worth $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Private Trust Co. grew its stake in Altria Group by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 30,613 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.