Brokerages Set Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) PT at $70.44

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.4444.

A number of research firms have recently commented on MO. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at $1,821,401.12. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $418,327.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at $5,332,700.25. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $73.73 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $70.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.83. Altria Group has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.34% and a negative return on equity of 298.69%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.68 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 88.70%.

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.