ING Groep NV Increases Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 40.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 454,738 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 130,054 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $72,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 31.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 3,929 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 14,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 36,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,397,000 after acquiring an additional 6,184 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PM. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 target price (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.27.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM opened at $162.96 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.15 and a 12 month high of $186.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.98, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $177.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.20.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS 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 9.03%. The firm had revenue of $10.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 102.66%.

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.