Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,496 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International makes up 0.4% of Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $24,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 140,621,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,320,878,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,283 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,840,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,466,730,000 after purchasing an additional 4,563,632 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,712,994,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,794,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,554,686,000 after purchasing an additional 3,575,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 22.2% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,018,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635,636 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, September 4th. KGI Securities initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.44.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $160.51 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.12 and a 52-week high of $186.69. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.86% and a net margin of 9.03%.The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 111.79%.

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.