Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by WASHINGTON TRUST Co

WASHINGTON TRUST Co reduced its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 34.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,906 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,573 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PM. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $712,210,000 after acquiring an additional 4,464,590 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $522,214,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 4,298,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 4,216,586 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:PM opened at $182.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $176.36 and a 200-day moving average of $153.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.60 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.52. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.80 and a 52 week high of $186.69.

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

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.80.

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.

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