12 Best 5% Dividend Stocks To Buy According To Hedge Funds

6. Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 32

Dividend Yield as of February 5: 7.76%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) is an American tobacco company, headquartered in Virginia. The company manufactures a wide range of related products including cigarettes and other nicotine products. In its Q4 2024 earnings, the company posted revenue of $5.11 billion, reflecting a 1.63% increase from the same quarter the previous year. This result also exceeded analysts’ forecasts by $59.6 million. The company’s strong brand performance drove income growth and margin expansion in its core tobacco segment, while it continued to make strategic investments for future growth. For 2025, Altria projects adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) to fall between $5.22 and $5.37, indicating a 2% to 5% increase from the 2024 baseline of $5.12.

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) has outperformed the market in the past 12 months, surging by nearly 30%. The tobacco industry has experienced significant changes in recent years. While global smoking rates have declined, more consumers are turning to smoke-free alternatives like e-cigarettes and oral tobacco, which are perceived as less harmful and are becoming increasingly popular. Altria Group, known for brands like Marlboro and Parliament, seems to be adapting well to these shifts by broadening its range of smoke-free products.

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) is a strong dividend payer, remaining committed to its shareholder obligation. In FY24, the company returned $6.8 billion to investors through dividends. In addition, it has raised its payouts for 55 years in a row. The company offers a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.76%, as of February 5.

At the end of Q3 2024, 32 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO), compared with 36 in the previous quarter. The consolidated value of these stakes is over $2.27 billion. With over 22 million shares, Arrowstreet Capital was the company’s leading stakeholder in Q3.