5 Safest Stocks To Invest In

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM), an American multinational tobacco company, is one of the safest stocks to monitor. Tobacco and alcohol demand has historically risen during times of economic hardships, as people turn towards substances to deal with the pressure of unemployment and rising inflation. On November 6, the company announced that activist fund Elliott Management put its support behind Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)’s $15.7 billion acquisition offer for Swedish Match, allowing the deal to conclude. 

On November 15, Argus analyst David Coleman upgraded Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) to Buy from Hold with a $110 price target. The company is working to become a primarily smoke-free business by 2025, the analyst told investors in a research note. He noted that the new reduced-risk products presently account for 30% of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)’s net sales, and the company has also acquired the rights to commercialize IQOS in the U.S. starting on April 30, 2024. The management has raised its dividend as well, which signals higher confidence in the future outlook, the analyst wrote in a research note.

Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 63 funds were bullish on Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) at the end of Q3 2022, compared to 56 funds in the prior quarter. Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners is the leading stakeholder of the company, with 17.4 million shares worth $1.4 billion. 

Here is what Coho Relative Value Equity Fund has to say about Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:

“Coho is not immune to the earnings pressure exerted by a strong USD, although the portfolio on the whole has modestly less foreign revenue exposure relative to the S&P 500 Index. The two most impacted Coho stocks includes Philip Morris International, which essentially derives all of its revenues outside the U.S. Harkening back to Table 1, the decline in Philip Morris earnings for 2022 versus the reported earnings in 2021 is entirely related to the strengthening dollar. On a constant currency basis, Philip Morris’ earnings in 2022 would be up mid to high single digits.”