Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,373,293 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70,854 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $217,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 439,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,695,000 after buying an additional 87,631 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Investments LP acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,966,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,223,000. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 46.6% in the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,510,000 after purchasing an additional 11,034 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.80.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of PM opened at $184.54 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $174.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $287.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.52. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.80 and a 12-month high of $186.69.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 negative return on equity of 122.40% and a net margin of 8.43%. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 111.34%.

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.