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

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.4444.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In related news, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total value of $145,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at $1,821,401.12. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $5,332,700.25. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Viking Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 202,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,647,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Altria Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,587,000 after buying an additional 814,665 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 13.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 144,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,561,000 after acquiring an additional 17,429 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 603,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,889,000 after acquiring an additional 18,626 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,926,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $72.32 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.45. The stock has a market cap of $120.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46. Altria Group has a 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $74.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.