If You Had Invested $1,000 in Altria Group Stock 1 Year Ago, Here's How Much You Would Have Today

Core Viewpoint - Altria Group has shown a total return of 13.5% over the past year, primarily driven by high dividend payments, but it still underperformed compared to the S&P 500's total return of 15.6% [2][3]. Performance Analysis - Altria's stock price increased by 6.9% over the past year, which is significantly lower than the S&P 500's increase of 13.8% [2]. - A $1,000 investment in Altria would have grown to $1,135, while the same investment in the S&P 500 would have reached $1,156 [3]. Dividend Insights - Altria has a strong focus on dividends, with the board recently increasing the payout by 3.9% to $1.06 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 7.2%, which is substantially higher than the S&P 500's yield of 1.1% [4][6]. Business Challenges - Altria's revenue from smokeable products, particularly cigarettes, has been declining, with a 1.3% drop in the third quarter to $4.6 billion. The company is facing challenges with falling cigarette volume and a decrease in market share, especially for its Marlboro brand [5]. Investment Considerations - Despite the attractive dividend yield, the long-term business prospects for Altria appear bleak, leading to a recommendation to avoid investing in the shares [5].