Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Has $4.09 Million Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. cut its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,679 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International makes up 1.0% of Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PM. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Philip Morris International by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,416,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,495,794,000 after buying an additional 4,869,272 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,575,742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121,732 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,396,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,226,746,000 after buying an additional 125,919 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,126,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,234,963,000 after buying an additional 77,820 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,439,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,104,000 after buying an additional 2,123,311 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.22.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $101.33. The company had a trading volume of 7,299,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,042,973. The company has a market capitalization of $157.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.94. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $104.90.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 21st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.56%.

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.