Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Acquired by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.9%, owning a total of 482,345 shares valued at approximately $76.3 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on PM, with Stifel Nicolaus raising its price target to $186 and maintaining a "buy" rating, while other firms like UBS Group and Wall Street Zen adjusted their ratings and targets.
• Philip Morris International declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%, despite a payout ratio above 100%.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 482,345 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,248 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $76,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 140,621,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,320,878,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,283 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after acquiring an additional 4,216,586 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,630,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,640,392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347,503 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,712,994,000. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Philip Morris International from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned 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 price target of $186.27.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM traded down $2.91 on Wednesday, hitting $165.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,020,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,072,447. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.12 and a 12 month high of $186.69. The company has a market capitalization of $257.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's 50-day moving average is $175.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.05.

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

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.