Morris Financial Concepts Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Morris Financial Concepts Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,536 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company's stock worth $16,780,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares during the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 4,216,586 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth 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 raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company's stock worth $2,079,262,000 after acquiring an additional 516,617 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PM shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target 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. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.80.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock traded up $3.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $179.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,734,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,642,713. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.62 and a 1-year high of $186.69. The firm has a market cap of $278.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $177.14 and a 200 day moving average of $154.80.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.40% and a net margin of 8.43%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 111.34%.

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.