Altria Becomes Dividend King of S&P 500

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Published: February 3, 2025 9:15 am

Cigarette maker Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) now has the best yield of any stock in the S&P 500 at 8%. There is a chance that if there is a flight to safety because of tariffs, then shares surge. Aside from the dividend, the stock is up 21% in the past year, which is just short of the S&P 500’s performance. For stockholders, it is an impressive double-barreled option. The company has raised its dividend 59 times in the past 55 years.

24/7 Wall St. Key Points:

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) now has the best yield of any stock in the S&P 500.
Furthermore, the cigarette maker has raised its dividend 59 times in the past 55 years.
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According to Yahoo, “Altria has been able to offset the volume declines on its balance sheet through regular price hikes, allowing it to increase earnings each year and fund increases to its dividend each year.”

Altria’s finances are boring. Revenue was flat in the fourth quarter at $6 billion. Per-share earnings rose an impressive 54% to $1.79. The company commented on next year. “We expect to deliver 2025 full-year adjusted diluted EPS in a range of $5.22 to $5.37. This range represents an adjusted diluted EPS growth rate of 2% to 5% from a base of $5.12 in 2024.”

One issue for Altria is that it is still a one-product company. In the cigarette part of its business, Marlboro is over 90% of sales.

Altria has a good deal of headroom to raise dividends well into the future. It has over $3 billion of cash on its balance sheet and nothing to invest that in.

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