Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Performance Graph

The graph below compares the cumulative total shareholder return of Altria’s common stock for the last five years with the cumulative total return for the same period of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P Food, Beverage and Tobacco Industry Group Total Return Index. The graph assumes the investment of $100 in common stock and each of the indices as of the market close on December 31, 2015 and the reinvestment of all dividends on a quarterly basis.

Source: Bloomberg - “Total Return Analysis” calculated on a daily basis and assumes reinvestment of dividends as of the ex-dividend date.

Market and Dividend Information

The principal stock exchange on which Altria’s common stock (par value $0.33 1/3 per share) is listed is the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “MO”. At February 15, 2021, there were approximately 54,000 holders of record of Altria’s common stock.

Altria has a history of paying cash dividends and expects to continue to do so with a long-term objective of a dividend payout ratio target of approximately 80% of its adjusted diluted earnings per share. Future dividend payments remain subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors.

Table of Contents

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities During the Quarter Ended December 31, 2020

In July 2019, the Board of Directors authorized a $1.0 billion share repurchase program. In April 2020, the Board rescinded the $500 million remaining in this program as part of Altria’s efforts to enhance its liquidity position in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no share repurchases made in 2020 under a publicly announced program. In January 2021, the Board authorized a new $2.0 billion share repurchase program, which Altria expects to complete by June 30, 2022. The timing of share repurchases under this program depends upon marketplace conditions and other factors, and the program remains subject to the discretion of the Board.

Altria’s share repurchase activity for each of the three months in the period ended December 31, 2020, was as follows:

(1) The total number of shares purchased represents shares withheld by Altria in an amount equal to the statutory withholding taxes for vested stock-based awards previously granted to eligible employees.