Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Decreases Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.7% in Q1, selling 33,911 shares and holding approximately 0.06% of the company worth $141.18 million.
• Philip Morris International's stock has recently been the subject of multiple upgrades, with analysts increasing price targets and ratings, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $186.27.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.91, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35, yielding 3.3%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 889,440 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,911 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.06% of Philip Morris International worth $141,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the first quarter worth about $111,000. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.3% during the first quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 34,660 shares of the company's stock worth $5,502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1,481.1% during the first quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 69,206 shares of the company's stock worth $10,985,000 after purchasing an additional 64,829 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the first quarter worth about $314,000. Finally, Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 15.7% during the first quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 3,270 shares of the company's stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:PM traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $162.88. The company had a trading volume of 5,186,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,943,793. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $177.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.20. The firm has a market cap of $253.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.48. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.15 and a 52 week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $10.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.33 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 120.86%. The company's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. On average, 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is 102.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $182.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $170.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.27.

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.