With The EU’s War on Smoking, Here Are Hedge Fund’s Favorite Tobacco Stocks

#1 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

– Number of Hedge Fund Holders (as of March 31): 48
– Total Value of Hedge Fund Holdings (as of March 31): $3.89 billion
– Hedge Fund Holdings as Percent of Float (as of March 31): 2.60%

Despite being much more international than Altria, Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) shares have outperformed that of its former parent, with a year-to-date return of 13% versus Altria’s 9.6% return. One reason for the good returns is the company’s dividend yield of 4.15%. Another reason could be the expectation that the strong dollar might weaken, and thereby help Philip Morris’ international earnings. The company gets almost a third of its revenue from Asia, slightly less than a third from the EU, and the rest from Latin America, Canada, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

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