Is it Still Safe to Acquire Philip Morris (PM) Shares?

Fundsmith Equity, an investment management firm, published its second-quarter 2022 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. The Fund underperformed what is perhaps the most obvious comparator — the MSCI World Index (£ net), which itself fell by 11.3% — by 6.5 percentage points during the first half of 2022. Go over the fund’s top 5 positions to have a glimpse of its finest picks for 2022.

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, Fundsmith Equity Fund mentioned Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) and explained its insights for the company. Founded in 1847, Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) is a New York, New York-based multinational tobacco company with a $145.0 billion market capitalization. Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) delivered a -1.48% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -3.75%. The stock closed at $93.59 per share on July 21, 2022.

Here is what Fundsmith Equity Fund has to say about Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:

“Philip Morris International meanwhile benefited from its low rating, the perceived defensive nature of tobacco and latterly an attractive looking agreement to purchase Swedish Match (NASDAQ:MTCH) to create the undoubted leader in smokeless tobacco products and nicotine pouches. Despite this outperformance, Philip Morris International still ended the quarter as our second most lowly-rated stock.”

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Our calculations show that Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) fell short and didn’t make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) was in 55 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the second quarter of 2022, compared to 47 funds in the previous quarter. Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) delivered a -10.92% return in the past 3 months.

In August 2021, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in another article. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q1 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.