Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.1111.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $69.01 on Monday. Altria Group has a 52 week low of $54.70 and a 52 week high of $77.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.41 and a 200-day moving average of $69.11.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 33.99% and a negative return on equity of 315.29%. The business had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.11 per share. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kathryn McQuade acquired 1,500 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $67.62 per share, for a total transaction of $101,430.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 114,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,771,498.98. The trade was a 1.32% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Talon Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 9,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Altria Group by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,379,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,237,000 after acquiring an additional 315,892 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 137,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,918,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550 shares during the period. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 29.0% in the 2nd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 12,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,850 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Altria Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Kathryn B. McQuade purchased 1,500 shares of Altria at an average price of $67.62, increasing her direct holdings by 1.32%. The roughly $101,000 insider purchase may signal confidence that the stock’s valuation and dividend remain attractive. SEC insider transaction filing
• Positive Sentiment: Recent investment coverage continues to highlight MO as an income-oriented stock, citing its multidecade record of dividend increases, approximately 6%-plus yield, and relatively attractive valuation. Those features may support demand from retirement and dividend-focused investors. Dividend streak article
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry commentary says Altria and other tobacco companies are responding to declining cigarette volumes and rising costs by expanding smoke-free products and adapting to changing consumer preferences. The strategy offers long-term growth potential, but execution and category adoption remain important risks. Tobacco industry dynamics article
• Negative Sentiment: Seeking Alpha downgraded Altria to Hold, citing technical consolidation below its 50-day moving average and mixed second-quarter results. Smokeable products remained resilient, but oral tobacco revenue fell 5.2% year over year, raising concerns about growth momentum despite the stock’s low forward valuation and high yield. Altria rating downgrade article

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its operating companies, Altria develops, manufactures and markets cigarettes, cigars, oral tobacco products, nicotine pouches and electronic vaping products, with its business focused primarily on the United States.

Altria’s smokeable products portfolio includes Marlboro cigarettes, which are manufactured and marketed in the U.S. by Philip Morris USA, as well as Black & Mild cigars through John Middleton.