Retirement Stock Portfolio: 5 Safe Dividend Stocks to Consider

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63 

Dividend Yield as of November 28: 5.17%     

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) operates as a tobacco company working to deliver a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. It is one of the elite dividend stocks for a retirement stock portfolio. On November 6, Elliot Management is said to put its support behind Philip Morris International’s increased $15.7 billion offer for Swedish Match, which will allow the deal to cross the finish line. Philip Morris’ offer is said to have received 80% of acceptance of Swedish Match. 

On November 2, Morgan Stanley analyst Pamela Kaufman maintained an Overweight rating on Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) stock and raised the price target to $109 from $102, noting that the company’s recent agreement with Altria Group to regain control of IQOS distribution will allow it to introduce IQOS in the US by 2024. 

Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based investment firm GQG Partners is a leading shareholder in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) with 17.4 million shares worth more than $1.4 billion. 

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, Artisan Partners, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“On the positive side of the ledger, our top contributor was Swedish Match, a Swedish tobacco and nicotine products maker. The company received an all-cash takeover offer from rival Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM), which we also held in the portfolio, for SEK 106 per share—a 35% premium to Swedish Match’s prior closing share price. The deal is a good fit for PM as it reduces PM’s dependence on cigarettes—a category in steady decline—and accelerates the company’s transition to smokeless “reduced-risk” products (RRPs)—a category that has experienced rapid growth over the past five years. PM can also leverage its global scale to generate significant revenue synergies from these complementary product sets, as well as quickly gain access to the US market—the world’s largest market for RRPs and one where regulators have embraced RRPs and other less harmful nicotine products. We exited our position in Swedish Match as shares approached the takeout price.”