Lountzis Asset Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Lountzis Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 115.0% in the first quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 215 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $182.00 price objective (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.73.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.9%

PM traded down $1.66 during trading on Friday, hitting $179.33. 1,825,561 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,977,469. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.84 and a 1 year high of $186.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $177.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.13. The firm has a market cap of $279.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.51.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.43% and a negative return on equity of 122.40%. Philip Morris International's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

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.