Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Receives $69.22 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $69.2222.

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $68.60 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.48. Altria Group has a 52-week low of $54.70 and a 52-week high of $74.56.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,935,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,741,000 after acquiring an additional 49,416 shares during the last quarter. Mathes Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth $211,000. HORAN Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% in the first quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 33.3% in the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6.5% in the first quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 81,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,405,000 after acquiring an additional 5,003 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 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.