GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Increases Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 39,282.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,342 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 270,653 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International makes up 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 1,167,810 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew 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 buying an additional 4,216,586 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew 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 buying an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 3,185,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew 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 buying an additional 516,617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock traded up $3.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $179.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,734,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,642,713. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $177.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.80. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.62 and a 52-week high of $186.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.91, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.40% and a net margin of 8.43%. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group upgraded Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.80.

Philip Morris International 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.