Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel International Fund” first-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, the Ariel International Fund gained +5.40% trailing the MSCI EAFE and MSCI ACWI ex-US indexes which returned +8.47% and +6.87%, respectively. Communication Services holdings were the leading contributor of the fund in the quarter, while stock selection within Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary detracted. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2023.
Ariel International Fund highlighted stocks like Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the first quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) is a tobacco company. On June 1, 2023, Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) stock closed at $90.16 per share. One-month return of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) was -5.65%, and its shares lost 14.56% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) has a market capitalization of $139.946 billion.
Ariel International Fund made the following comment about Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:
“Finally, tobacco maker, Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) declined in the period on concerns related to supply-chain disruptions resulting from the war in Ukraine, which we view as temporary. We believe the favorable economics and margin expansion associated with market share gains from the IQOS brand and Reduced Risk Products should yield value creation opportunities in the years ahead. Furthermore, at current trading levels, we think the company’s operating leverage, pricing power, and free cash flow profile offer a margin of safety.”
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Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 55 hedge fund portfolios held Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) at the end of first quarter 2023 which was 47 in the previous quarter.
We discussed Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in another article and shared the list of best value stocks to buy in 2023 according to billionaire Mario Gabelli. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
