Capital Stock

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

At December 31, 2019, Altria had 12 billion shares of authorized common stock; issued, repurchased and outstanding shares of common stock were as follows:



	Shares Issued	Shares Repurchased		Shares Outstanding
Balances, December 31, 2016	2,805,961,317	(862,689,093	)	1,943,272,224
Stock award activity	—	(408,891	)	(408,891	)
Repurchases of common stock	—	(41,604,141	)	(41,604,141	)
Balances, December 31, 2017	2,805,961,317	(904,702,125	)	1,901,259,192
Stock award activity	—	676,727		676,727
Repurchases of common stock	—	(27,878,324	)	(27,878,324	)
Balances, December 31, 2018	2,805,961,317	(931,903,722	)	1,874,057,595
Stock award activity	—	427,276		427,276
Repurchases of common stock	—	(16,503,317	)	(16,503,317	)
Balances, December 31, 2019	2,805,961,317	(947,979,763	)	1,857,981,554

At December 31, 2019, Altria had 39,288,323 shares of common stock reserved for stock-based awards under Altria’s stock plans.

At December 31, 2019, 10 million shares of serial preferred stock, $1.00 par value, were authorized; no shares of serial preferred stock have been issued.

▪Dividends: During the third quarter of 2019, Altria’s Board of Directors (the “Board of Directors”) approved a 5% increase in the quarterly dividend rate to $0.84 per share of Altria common stock versus the previous rate of $0.80 per share. The current annualized dividend rate is $3.36 per share. Future dividend payments remain subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors.

▪Share Repurchases: In July 2015, the Board of Directors authorized a $1.0 billion share repurchase program that it expanded to $3.0 billion in October 2016 and to $4.0 billion in July 2017 (as expanded, the “July 2015 share repurchase program”). In January 2018, Altria completed the July 2015 share repurchase program, under which it purchased a total of 58.7 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $68.15 per share.

Following the completion of the July 2015 share repurchase program, the Board of Directors authorized a new $1.0 billion share repurchase program in January 2018 that it expanded to $2.0 billion in May 2018 (as expanded, the “January 2018 share repurchase program”). In June 2019, Altria completed the January 2018 share repurchase program, under which it purchased a total of 34.0 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $58.86 per share.

In July 2019, the Board of Directors authorized a new $1.0 billion share repurchase program (the “July 2019 share repurchase program”). At December 31, 2019, Altria had $500 million remaining in the July 2019 share repurchase program. 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 of Directors.

For the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, Altria’s total share repurchase activity was as follows:



	July 2019 Share Repurchase Program		January 2018 Share Repurchase Program				July 2015 Share Repurchase Program				Total
(in millions, except per share data)	2019		2019		2018		2018		2017		2019		2018		2017
Total number of shares repurchased	10.1		6.4		27.6		0.3		41.6		16.5		27.9		41.6
Aggregate cost of shares repurchased	$	500	$	345	$	1,655	$	18	$	2,917	$	845	$	1,673	$	2,917
Average price per share of shares repurchased	$	49.29	$	54.36	$	59.89	$	71.68	$	70.10	$	51.24	$	60.00	$	70.10