5 Best Defensive Stocks Under $50

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48

Share Price as of August 23: $45.25

On July 25, Jefferies analyst Owen Bennett revised his price target on Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) to $54 from $58 and reiterated a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares. The analyst sees the stock’s dividend yield rising to 10% and above by 2028. As of August 23, Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares offer a forward dividend yield of 7.93% and the company has free cash flows of $8.08 billion to support its dividend payments. The company has been growing its dividends consistently for over 50 years and has a 5-year dividend CAGR of 8.09% with an annual payout ratio of 76.76%.

On July 28, Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) reported fiscal second quarter earnings per share of $1.26, beating estimates by $0.01. The company’s revenue for the quarter amounted to $5.37 billion. The company also reaffirmed its guidance and said that it expects to deliver full-year adjusted diluted EPS of between $4.79 and $4.93, with the Wall Street consensus at $4.83.

At the end of Q2 2022, 48 hedge funds held stakes in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) worth $1.83 billion. This is compared to 47 positions in the previous quarter with stakes worth $1.95 billion. Arrowstreet Capital raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 507% in Q2, with the value of its position standing at $370 million at the end of June. The investment covers 0.52% of Arrowstreet Capital’s 13F portfolio.