Philip Morris International Inc. $PM Stake Lessened by Aurdan Capital Management LLC

Aurdan Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 10.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,331 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,822 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for 2.5% of Aurdan Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Aurdan Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 142,857,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,018,555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,235,380 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,831,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,243,429,000 after acquiring an additional 871,165 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,181,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,760,346,000 after purchasing an additional 672,983 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 24,968.0% during the second quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 11,275,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,041,223,000 after purchasing an additional 11,230,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 7.9% during the second quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 10,676,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,944,585,000 after purchasing an additional 782,536 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $181.63 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.02 and a 12-month high of $186.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $163.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.39.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.03. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 122.14%. On average, equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Philip Morris International from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $175.00 price objective on Philip Morris International and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.56.

About Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is a global tobacco company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, other nicotine-containing products and a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. The firm traces its corporate roots to the 19th century Philip Morris enterprise and was established as an independent, publicly traded company following a 2008 separation from what is now Altria. Since the spin-off, the company has focused on serving international markets outside the United States.

PMI’s product mix includes traditional combustible cigarettes as well as smoke-free offerings such as heated tobacco systems and other reduced-risk products.