Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Acquired by GF Fund Management CO. LTD.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 39,282.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 271,342 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 270,653 shares during the period. Philip Morris International makes up approximately 1.0% of GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $43,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the first quarter worth approximately $169,000. Calamos Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 10.5% during the first quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,256 shares of the company's stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 12.9% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 575,193 shares of the company's stock worth $91,300,000 after acquiring an additional 65,863 shares during the last quarter. Courage Miller Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the first quarter worth approximately $238,000. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 95.6% during the first quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 5,709 shares of the company's stock worth $906,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 target price (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up previously from $205.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.80.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM traded up $2.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $181.12. The company had a trading volume of 4,652,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,638,756. The firm's fifty day moving average is $177.14 and its 200 day moving average is $155.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.92 billion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.51. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.62 and a twelve month high of $186.69.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.