Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires 8,058 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,884 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,058 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $17,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 19,986.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,486,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $712,210,000 after acquiring an additional 4,464,590 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth $522,214,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 372.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,453,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $656,303,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216,586 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PM. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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 initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Barclays raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.30.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM traded up $4.26 on Wednesday, hitting $183.29. 3,918,473 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,597,481. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $285.29 billion, a PE ratio of 40.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.93 and a 12 month high of $183.94.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

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.