Whittier Trust Co. Raises Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 340,008 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for about 0.8% of Whittier Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $53,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PM. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 19,986.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,486,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $712,210,000 after acquiring an additional 4,464,590 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,298,530 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,216,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $180.82 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $178.20 and its 200 day moving average is $157.41. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.84 and a 52-week high of $186.69. The company has a market capitalization of $281.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.51.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.40% and a net margin of 8.43%. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given 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 yield of 2.99%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 111.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on PM. Wall Street Zen lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group set a $181.00 target price on Philip Morris International and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.73.

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.