Ballast Inc. Takes Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Ballast Inc. bought a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,712,994,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,464,590 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 372.2% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,752,926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216,586 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,794,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,554,686,000 after purchasing an additional 3,575,158 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $170.23 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.62 and a 1-year high of $186.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.98 billion, a PE ratio of 32.36, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $176.29 and its 200-day moving average is $163.71.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.05. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 120.86%. The company had revenue of $10.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.27.

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.