Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 117,043 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 13.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 761,789 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117,043 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $120,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PM. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 19,986.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,486,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $712,210,000 after purchasing an additional 4,464,590 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $522,214,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 372.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,453,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,303,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position in Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216,586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM stock opened at $182.44 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $98.93 and a one year high of $186.69. The stock has a market cap of $283.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $173.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.63.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.43% and a negative return on equity of 122.40%. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price target (up from $205.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.80.

Philip Morris International 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.