Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Director Sells $418,327.50 in Stock

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Director Ennis Debra Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $418,327.50. Following the sale, the director owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at $5,332,700.25. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $71.83. 3,813,679 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,716,601. The business’s fifty day moving average is $68.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.89. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.48.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for 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 business’s quarterly 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,777,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,265,780 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Altria Group by 286.7% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,479,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,929,000 after buying an additional 3,321,262 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,285,575,000 after buying an additional 3,172,753 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 438.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,637,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,749,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962,270 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,282,143,000 after acquiring an additional 1,903,530 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Five investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.44.

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.