Balefire LLC Trims Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Key Points

• Balefire LLC cut its Philip Morris International stake by 58.7% in the second quarter, selling 12,604 shares and retaining 8,872 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 10 Buy ratings and two Holds; the stock has an average price target of $205.89, above its reported opening price of $189.24.
• Philip Morris exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.20 EPS and $11.19 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $1.47, equivalent to a 3.1% annualized yield.

Balefire LLC lowered its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,872 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,604 shares during the quarter. Balefire LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 145,262,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,300,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793,949 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 132,355,726 shares of the company's stock worth $21,230,315,000 after purchasing an additional 3,579,399 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 101,377,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,262,967,000 after purchasing an additional 12,227,004 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,559,706 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,751,407,000 after purchasing an additional 11,013,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,230,669 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,848,919,000 after buying an additional 1,847,421 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. BTIG Research set a $221.00 target price on Philip Morris International and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.89.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $189.24 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.11 and a 1 year high of $207.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $183.59 and a 200 day moving average of $177.23. The stock has a market cap of $294.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.38.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $11.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.60 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 163.41% and a net margin of 11.06%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Philip Morris International has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.25 EPS. Research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.48%.

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.

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