Wiregrass Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Wiregrass Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $677,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 630,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,146,000 after purchasing an additional 114,618 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 67,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,775,000 after buying an additional 19,309 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 115,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,489,000 after buying an additional 34,392 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 216,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,745,000 after buying an additional 7,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 2,023 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $188.03 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.11 and a 52 week high of $194.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $182.60 and a 200-day moving average of $174.88.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.13. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 142.02% and a net margin of 11.61%.The business had revenue of $10.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.69 EPS. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.37 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were given a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 25th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 82.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PM. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $216.00 price target on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $197.00.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is a global tobacco company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, other nicotine-containing products and a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. The firm traces its corporate roots to the 19th century Philip Morris enterprise and was established as an independent, publicly traded company following a 2008 separation from what is now Altria. Since the spin-off, the company has focused on serving international markets outside the United States.

PMI’s product mix includes traditional combustible cigarettes as well as smoke-free offerings such as heated tobacco systems and other reduced-risk products.