Is Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) a good buy?
In today’s marketplace, there are dozens of gauges shareholders can use to monitor the equity markets. A couple of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top money managers can trounce their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see just how much).
Just as necessary, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to analyze the financial markets. Obviously, there are many reasons for a corporate insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).
What’s more, we’re going to analyze the recent info about Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO).
How are hedge funds trading Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO)?
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 32 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 7% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.
Consequently, certain money managers have jumped into Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) headfirst. Gardner Russo & Gardner, managed by Tom Russo, initiated the most outsized position in Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO). Gardner Russo & Gardner had 264.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management also initiated a $75.8 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new MO investors: David Winters’s Wintergreen Advisers, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
What have insiders been doing with Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO)?
Insider buying made by high-level executives is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time frame, Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO). These stocks are Vector Group Ltd (NYSE:VGR), Lorillard Inc. (NYSE:LO), Reynolds American, Inc. (NYSE:RAI), Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM), and British American Tobacco PLC (ADR) (NYSEAMEX:BTI). All of these stocks are in the cigarettes industry and their market caps match MO’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Vector Group Ltd (NYSE:VGR) | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| Lorillard Inc. (NYSE:LO) | 26 | 0 | 6 |
| Reynolds American, Inc. (NYSE:RAI) | 16 | 0 | 15 |
| Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) | 55 | 2 | 6 |
| British American Tobacco PLC (ADR) (NYSEAMEX:BTI) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
Using the returns shown by our research, average investors must always track hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
