5 Best Consumer Staple Stocks

4. Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 56

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) is one of the largest tobacco companies in the world. Tobacco has been one of the most consistently growing industries in the world after generating 12.6% returns on average for almost a century. Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) is headquartered in New York and sells its products in 180 countries worldwide.

Since the spin-off in 2008, Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) has increased its dividend every year. With the announcement of a 1.6% increase in its quarterly dividend on September 14, the company’s dividend rate growth stands at 176.1% at a CAGR of 7.5% over 13 years.

As of the second quarter of 2022, 56 hedge funds held a position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM), valued at $6.86 billion. In the previous quarter, 55 hedge funds had a stake in the company worth $6.64 billion. In Q2, GQG Partners had the most significant stake in the company with 30.44 million shares, worth over $3 billion.

Here is what First Eagle Investments had to say about Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:

“Philip Morris shares benefited from the market rotation into defensive areas of the market. The company continued to make progress in its transition to next-generation, non-combustible products and, during the quarter, entered into an agreement to acquire Swedish Match, which is a Stockholm-based maker of Zyn oral nicotine pouches.”