Tufton Capital Management Has $7.50 Million Position in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Tufton Capital Management reduced its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 41,193 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,934 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for 1.4% of Tufton Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PM. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 24,968.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 11,230,626 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the first quarter valued at about $1,712,994,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 26.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,840,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,466,730,000 after acquiring an additional 4,563,632 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,575,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 22.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,635,636 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $144.58 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.79. The firm has a market cap of $225.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.43. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.12 and a 1 year high of $186.69.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd were issued a $1.47 dividend. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PM. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $177.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.00.

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.