Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Sells 78,986 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 74.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,173 shares of the company's stock after selling 78,986 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up approximately 0.9% of Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 88.5% in the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company's stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 4,007 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 115.5% in the 4th quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 13,115 shares of the company's stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 7,030 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,091,000. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 152.2% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 58,268 shares of the company's stock worth $3,497,000 after acquiring an additional 35,168 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $60.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $59.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.14, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.61. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.17 and a 52 week high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.