GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Sells 117 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lessened its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,245 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 542,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,111,000 after acquiring an additional 35,561 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 20.5% during the first quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 13,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,216,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 11,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 8.2% in the first quarter. Magnolia Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $182.00 price target (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.30.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.3%

Philip Morris International stock opened at $183.98 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.93 and a 1-year high of $184.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $286.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $169.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.87.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.