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

Key Points

• Altria shares rose 2.5% to about $70.69 after director Kathryn McQuade bought 1,500 shares for approximately $101,430, increasing her ownership by 1.32%.
• Analyst views remain mixed, with five Buy, four Hold, and two Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $70.11.
• Altria raised its quarterly dividend to $1.11 per share, or $4.44 annually, producing a 6.3% yield. Its latest quarterly revenue rose 1.2% year over year, though adjusted EPS of $1.48 narrowly missed estimates.

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) shot up 2.5% on Monday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $71.05 and last traded at $70.6860. 7,813,403 shares were traded during 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 acquired 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Barclays dropped their price target 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. UBS Group increased 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. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Stock Up 2.5%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The firm's 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $1.11 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Talon Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $223,000. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 12.9% during the second quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 9,411 shares of the company's stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew 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 purchasing an additional 315,892 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 137,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,918,000 after buying an additional 7,550 shares during the period. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 29.0% in the 2nd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 12,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 2,850 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Altria Group

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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