Phoenix Financial Ltd. Boosts Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. grew its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,778 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. 49 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 79.0% in the first quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 2,354 shares during the last quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 704.0% in the first quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO now owns 142,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,690,000 after purchasing an additional 125,171 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 24.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 439,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,695,000 after purchasing an additional 87,631 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Symmetry Investments LP acquired a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at $1,966,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $160.92 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $112.43 and a 1-year high of $186.69. The business has a 50-day moving average of $178.86 and a 200-day moving average of $160.14. The company has a market capitalization of $250.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.05. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.86% and a net margin of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $10.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 102.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price target (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.73.

About Philip Morris International

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.