Ritholtz Wealth Management Raises Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 31.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 80,993 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,506 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $14,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Abound Wealth Management increased its position in Philip Morris International by 566.7% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 160 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 405.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $177.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.44.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $159.08 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.12 and a 1 year high of $186.69. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.83. The firm has a market cap of $247.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 dividend yield of 3.7%. Philip Morris International’s dividend 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.