Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Reduces Position in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,412 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,525 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.3% during the first quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 83,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,207,000 after acquiring an additional 2,669 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,583,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $568,873,000 after buying an additional 242,799 shares during the last quarter. First American Trust FSB increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 80.0% during the first quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 56,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,949,000 after acquiring an additional 25,063 shares during the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 44.5% in the 2nd quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 6,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CCM Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,641,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PM. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $175.00 target price on Philip Morris International and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Philip Morris International from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $155.24 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $156.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.34. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.12 and a fifty-two week high of $186.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.43.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 122.14%. Equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd were given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 3rd. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 106.52%.

Philip Morris International Company 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.