Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Down 1.2% – Here’s Why

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares traded down 1.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $68.44 and last traded at $69.7550. 10,496,660 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 9,263,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.11.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $116.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.12.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.11 per share. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 93.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Altria Group news, Director Kathryn McQuade acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $67.62 per share, with a total value of $101,430.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,806,782,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,104,566,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $631,606,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $349,743,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Altria Group by 3,691.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,606,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,492,000 after purchasing an additional 3,511,430 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.