Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. sold 20,444 shares of Philip Morris International Inc., reducing its stake to about 4.67 million shares, valued at approximately $742 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 78.63% of Philip Morris International, with notable increases in stake from companies such as GAMMA Investing LLC, which grew its holdings by nearly 20,000% in the latest quarter.
• Philip Morris International reported earnings of $1.91 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, while its recent dividend yields 3.2% with a payout ratio currently at 102.66%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,674,698 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,444 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.30% of Philip Morris International worth $742,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 140,621,675 shares of the company's stock worth $22,320,878,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,283 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the fourth 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 period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,630,177 shares of the company's stock worth $1,640,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347,503 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 10,313,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,241,216,000 after acquiring an additional 685,431 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,794,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,554,686,000 after acquiring an additional 3,575,158 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.27.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock traded up $2.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $170.23. The company had a trading volume of 3,774,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,011,663. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.16. The company has a market cap of $264.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.48. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.62 and a 12 month high of $186.69.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $10.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.33 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.86% and a net margin of 9.03%. Philip Morris International's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.66%.

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.