South Dakota Investment Council Reduces Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

South Dakota Investment Council reduced its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 59.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,478 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $6,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PM. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 24,968.0% in the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 11,275,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,041,223,000 after buying an additional 11,230,626 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the first quarter worth about $1,712,994,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 worth $3,466,730,000 after acquiring an additional 4,563,632 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $1,554,686,000 after acquiring an additional 3,575,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,635,636 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM opened at $144.33 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $160.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.92. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.12 and a 12-month high of $186.69.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm 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 paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on PM. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. KGI Securities assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $177.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.00.

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.