Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Optimist Retirement Group LLC

Optimist Retirement Group LLC trimmed its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,270 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,447 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International comprises about 1.2% of Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,780,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after buying an additional 4,216,586 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC raised its position 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 valued at $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after buying an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,262,000 after buying an additional 516,617 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PM. Bank of America boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.73.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM opened at $178.75 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.83. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.76 and a 12 month high of $186.69. The company has a market capitalization of $278.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.86, a PEG ratio of 2.56 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.43% and a negative return on equity of 122.40%. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.34%.

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.