Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Price Target Raised to $77.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its price target boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $68.00 to $77.00 in a research note released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock.

MO has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Friday. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.63.

Altria Group Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of MO traded up $1.72 on Friday, hitting $74.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,810,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,537,741. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $66.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.68. 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 $124.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.48.

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 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 revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th were paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 103.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,777,931,000 after buying an additional 6,265,780 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,321,262 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 19.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,285,575,000 after acquiring an additional 3,172,753 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Altria Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat and guidance intact — Altria topped revenue and EPS estimates, cited pricing and cost controls as drivers, and reconfirmed FY2026 EPS guidance, a key reason investors are buying the stock. Altria beats quarterly profit estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Stifel raised its price target to $77 and kept a Buy rating, signaling incremental analyst confidence that supports the rally. Stifel raises PT to $77
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley highlights solid profit momentum and visibility from Altria’s pricing and portfolio; that institutional endorsement helped market sentiment. Morgan Stanley bullish note
• Positive Sentiment: Index/momentum attention — coverage noting an “S&P 500 moment” and recent share-price momentum has likely attracted passive and momentum flows into MO. Altria’s S&P 500 Moment
• Positive Sentiment: Income appeal — MO continues to be featured in low-risk/dividend lists, reinforcing demand from income-focused investors. Low-risk investment list
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup raised its target to $70 but kept a Neutral rating — signal of modestly improved fundamentals but still cautious relative to current levels. Citigroup PT update
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate housekeeping: Altria will webcast its 2026 annual meeting — routine disclosure, minimal immediate price impact but relevant for shareholder engagement. Webcast of annual meeting
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/momentum checks — analysts and media note strong 1‑year and 3‑month returns and mixed earnings expectations; market is re-pricing income story vs. growth risks. Valuation check
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/inflation caution — some analysts warn inflation and macro uncertainty increase downside risk despite the dividend and pricing power; a few commentators downgraded or advocated caution. Inflation and macro risk concerns

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.