CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Purchases 1,905 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,388 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $14,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company's stock worth $16,780,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company's stock worth $14,752,926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216,586 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company's stock worth $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company's stock worth $4,241,837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company's stock worth $2,079,262,000 after purchasing an additional 516,617 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PM. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upgraded Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.80.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock traded up $2.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $178.25. The company had a trading volume of 2,732,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,059,642. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.80 and a 12 month high of $186.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.75, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's fifty day moving average is $176.79 and its 200 day moving average is $153.86.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.40% and a net margin of 8.43%. The company's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

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.