NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 2025, 3:10 PM ET — Market Closed
Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) enters the final trading days of 2025 with the U.S. stock market closed for the weekend, leaving investors to digest Friday’s post-holiday tape and a fresh legal update tied to Altria’s NJOY vaping business.
MO shares ended Friday’s regular session at $57.60, down 2.34% on the day, and last showed $57.64 in extended trading. [1]
While the broader market was nearly flat in light post-Christmas trade—an environment that can amplify single-stock moves—Altria’s decline also coincided with a key income event: MO traded ex-dividend on Dec. 26, meaning buyers on or after that date will not receive the next quarterly payout. [2]
Why Altria stock moved on Friday: ex-dividend math meets a thin market
Altria’s $1.06 per share quarterly dividend (payable Jan. 9, 2026) went ex-dividend on Dec. 26, as previously announced by the company. [3]
In practical terms, stocks often see a mechanical price adjustment around the dividend amount when they go ex-dividend. In Altria’s case, MO closed $1.38 lower than its prior close (Dec. 24 close: $58.98 vs. Dec. 26 close: $57.60), a move modestly larger than the dividend itself—suggesting some additional weakness beyond the typical ex-dividend adjustment. [4]
Friday’s broader market backdrop was also unusually quiet. Reuters described the Dec. 26 session as “light-volume” with few catalysts, with all three major U.S. indexes finishing slightly lower. Carson Group Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick told Reuters the market was “catching our breath” after a strong multi-day run, highlighting that the seasonal “Santa Claus rally” window remains in play into early January. [5]
New in the last 24–48 hours: Juul seeks to block Altria/NJOY use of UCSF-uploaded records
A notable late-Friday development for Altria’s smoke-free portfolio came from the courtroom rather than the trading floor.
According to Bloomberg Law (published Dec. 26), Juul Labs asked an Arizona federal judge to bar Altria and its NJOY units from using documents Juul says were inadvertently uploaded to a public University of California, San Francisco database—records that Juul argues could undermine its nicotine-salt vape patent. The report says Juul sought a protective order to block discovery and use of those records, while NJOY opposed the request and accused Juul of trying to hide evidence it misled the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. [6]
For MO investors, the key takeaway heading into next week is that litigation and IP disputes remain a real swing factor for Altria’s vapor ambitions—often showing up in headlines outside normal earnings cycles.
Recent catalyst still shaping the narrative: FDA authorizes six on! PLUS nicotine pouch products
Although not from the last 48 hours, Altria’s most consequential late-December catalyst is still being weighed by investors: the FDA authorization of six on! PLUS nicotine pouch products.
The FDA said on Dec. 19 it authorized marketing of six nicotine pouch products sold under the on! PLUS brand (mint, tobacco, and wintergreen in 6 mg and 9 mg strengths), calling them the first authorizations completed under a new nicotine pouch pilot program intended to streamline reviews while maintaining scientific standards. [7]
In the FDA’s announcement, Bret Koplow, Ph.D., J.D., Acting Director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said: “rigorous and efficient standards of scientific review are not mutually exclusive.” [8]
Reuters also reported that Altria told the news agency that on! PLUS would resume taking new orders for retail accounts in Florida, North Carolina, and Texas, and online. [9]
Public-health scrutiny remains part of the category’s risk profile. The CDC warns that nicotine can harm parts of the adolescent brain involved in attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. [10]
Capital returns: dividend in focus now, buybacks remain part of the 2026 setup
Altria’s investment case continues to revolve around shareholder returns—especially into year-end when income strategies are frequently rebalanced.
- Dividend: The company declared a $1.06 quarterly dividend payable Jan. 9, 2026, with an ex-dividend date of Dec. 26, 2025. [11]
- Yield context: Several market trackers place Altria’s annual dividend at $4.24 per share, implying a yield in the mid-7% range at current prices. [12]
- Buybacks: In its Oct. 30 quarterly update, Altria said its board expanded the existing share repurchase authorization from $1 billion to $2 billion, with the program expiring Dec. 31, 2026 (repurchases remain discretionary and market-dependent). [13]
Wall Street forecasts: “Hold”-leaning consensus, targets clustered around the low-to-mid $60s
Street views on Altria remain mixed—reflecting the tug-of-war between durable cash returns and long-term volume/regulatory uncertainty in U.S. tobacco.
- MarketBeat shows a “Hold” consensus rating based on 11 analyst ratings, with an average price target of $62.33 (and targets ranging from $50 to $72, per its compilation). [14]
- TipRanks lists an average price target of $65.20 based on six analysts over the last three months (with a $72 high and $57 low forecast on its page). [15]
The near-term fundamental checkpoint on many models is the next earnings report: MarketBeat lists Altria’s next earnings date as estimated for Jan. 29, 2026 (before market open) based on historical reporting patterns. [16]
What investors should know before the next session
Because U.S. equities are closed for the weekend, the next meaningful price discovery for MO will be when trading resumes on Monday. Nasdaq’s U.S. trading-hours guide lists regular market hours as 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, with extended trading sessions available depending on broker (often 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET premarket and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET after-hours). [17]
Heading into Monday, Dec. 29, investors will likely focus on:
- Post–ex-dividend normalization: Ex-dividend sessions can create one-day distortions. Traders often watch whether the stock stabilizes once the dividend adjustment is “in the tape.” [18]
- NJOY/Juul litigation headlines: Bloomberg Law’s report underscores that procedural rulings in the vape patent dispute can surface quickly—and can shift sentiment around Altria’s smoke-free strategy. [19]
- Regulatory follow-through on nicotine pouches: The FDA has framed the on! PLUS authorizations as part of a pilot program and said it’s actively reviewing additional applications, which could bring more headlines for the category. [20]
- Year-end market dynamics and holiday scheduling: With New Year’s approaching, traders will also be mindful of the holiday calendar—stocks and bonds are closed on Jan. 1, 2026 for New Year’s Day, while year-end sessions can see thinner liquidity. [21]
For income-focused holders, the key point is straightforward: the upcoming Jan. 9 dividend is now “locked in” only for investors who owned shares before the ex-dividend cutoff. For everyone else, MO’s next catalyst becomes a mix of litigation developments, regulatory updates, and expectations for the company’s 2026 earnings and capital-return cadence. [22]
References
1. www.marketwatch.com, 2. www.reuters.com, 3. investor.altria.com, 4. www.marketwatch.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. news.bloomberglaw.com, 7. www.fda.gov, 8. www.fda.gov, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.cdc.gov, 11. investor.altria.com, 12. stockanalysis.com, 13. investor.altria.com, 14. www.marketbeat.com, 15. www.tipranks.com, 16. www.marketbeat.com, 17. www.nasdaq.com, 18. investor.altria.com, 19. news.bloomberglaw.com, 20. www.fda.gov, 21. www.investopedia.com, 22. investor.altria.com
