Altria Group Down 2% (MO)

Altria Group, Inc. MO shares are down 2% today, down 54 cents to $26.47 on 7 million shares, as the broader equity markets are down sharply. Shares of Altria continued to make new 52 week highs last week, and are resting here, after a strong run. Shares of other tobacco companies are faring better today, with Philip Morris International PM, Reynolds American RAI and Lorillard LO all down just over 1%. The additional weakness in Altria could potentially be attributed to a New York Times article on Yahoo Finance from yesterday saying the company was in talks to buy UST, except that Altria already owns UST.