Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Key Points

• Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.2%, owning a total of 84,695 shares valued at approximately $15.4 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.47 per share, up from the previous quarterly dividend of $1.35, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.7%.
• Philip Morris stock has seen a price increase of 2.3%, with a current market cap of $249.85 billion and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,695 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,783 shares during the period. Philip Morris International comprises approximately 0.9% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $15,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the first quarter worth $1,712,994,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,840,422 shares of the company's stock worth $3,466,730,000 after purchasing an additional 4,563,632 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 57.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,794,530 shares of the company's stock worth $1,554,686,000 after buying an additional 3,575,158 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,018,628 shares of the company's stock worth $1,431,527,000 after buying an additional 1,635,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 111.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,002,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $473,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580,368 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Philip Morris International from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $177.00 to $166.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.44.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $160.51 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.12 and a 52 week high of $186.69. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $164.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.87. The firm has a market cap of $249.85 billion, a PE ratio of 30.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.86% and a net margin of 9.03%.The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 111.79%.

About Philip Morris International

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.

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