Insider Selling: 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 directly owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at $5,332,700.25. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Altria Group Trading Down 3.2%

Altria Group stock opened at $69.63 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.48. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.70 and a 1-year high of $74.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted 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 business 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%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 88.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 86.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $346,000. Finally, AXA S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,752,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.44.

About Altria Group

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.