Billionaires Are Selling Philip Morris International and Loading the Boat on This "Magnificent Seven" Stock

• Philip Morris International has had a beardown year, but the banal has faltered since July owed to concerns astir request for the company's smokeless Zyn products.

• The baccy institution inactive pays a comparatively high-yielding dividend.

• Several billionaires bought 1 circumstantial "Magnificent Seven" banal successful the 3rd quarter.

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It's understandable wherefore retail investors mightiness spot a hedge money making a large caller concern successful a institution and get excited astir that stock. After all, billionaire hedge money managers are mostly viewed arsenic the champion banal pickers connected Wall Street, and immoderate of them adjacent person the way records of concern returns to backmost that premise up.

But retail investors indispensable retrieve that, successful general, they're uncovering retired astir these trades a fewer months aft they occur, and galore hedge funds put for short-term clip horizons. That's wherefore retail investors indispensable ever behaviour their ain owed diligence to marque definite it inactive makes consciousness to bargain a fixed stock.

However, if respective billionaire hedge money managers are buying oregon selling the aforesaid stock, it tin beryllium a wide indicator that it's astatine the precise slightest clip to instrumentality a look astatine pursuing their lead. In the 3rd quarter, a fig of billionaires sold their stakes successful Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) and loaded up connected 1 "Magnificent Seven" stock.

Shares of baccy elephantine Philip Morris are having a beardown year. They were up 27% arsenic of Nov. 17, but the banal had been performing adjacent amended antecedently -- it has since fixed up immoderate crushed since July. And the July-through-September play was erstwhile a mates of billionaires exited their stakes successful the company:

• Stanley Druckenmiller's Duquesne Family Office sold each of its astir 816,000 shares.

• Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management besides wholly exited its presumption successful Philip Morris, selling astir 1.3 cardinal shares.

The stock's descent began aft Philip Morris released its second-quarter net report. Its net were stronger than expected, and absorption raised its full-year forecast. However, gross came up abbreviated of expectations, and investors grew acrophobic astir request for the company's caller smokeless nicotine pouch product, Zyn. Demand was inactive strong, but due to the fact that Zyn is viewed arsenic the aboriginal of the longtime cigarette-focused company, investors are focused connected its growth.

Investors got spooked again aft Philip Morris delivered its third-quarter results successful precocious October. Management said it had engaged successful immoderate promotions for Zyn, which led immoderate onlookers to question however sustainable the product's moat could beryllium successful a satellite filled with increasing competition. Still, nett gross successful the company's smoke-free concern grew 17.7% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth successful the quarter.