Philip Morris International Inc. $PM Stock Holdings Increased by Alta Advisers Ltd

Key Points

• Alta Advisers increased its Philip Morris stake by 87.7% in the third quarter, ending the period with 11,240 shares valued at about $2.15 million. Institutional investors collectively own 78.63% of the company’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: ten analysts rate PM a Buy and two a Hold, for a MarketBeat “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $212.40.
• Philip Morris beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with EPS of $2.36 and revenue of $11.44 billion; it also raised its quarterly dividend from $1.47 to $1.60 per share.

Alta Advisers Ltd increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 87.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,240 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,253 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PM. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.1% during the third quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 35,756 shares of the company's stock worth $6,823,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 19.9% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 372,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,158,000 after buying an additional 61,991 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.2% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors Inc. now owns 6,460 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,233,000 after buying an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.6% in the third quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. BTIG Research set a $221.00 price objective on Philip Morris International and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Philip Morris International from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $212.40.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $201.26 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $195.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.66. The company has a market cap of $313.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.34. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.35 and a fifty-two week high of $214.35.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.32 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 183.96% and a net margin of 10.73%. Philip Morris International's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 2nd. This is an increase from Philip Morris International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is 93.43%.

Philip Morris International Profile

Philip Morris International Inc NYSE: PM is a global tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. It was established as an independent company in 2008 following the separation of Philip Morris International from Altria Group. The company develops, manufactures and markets tobacco, nicotine and other related consumer products primarily outside the United States.

Its portfolio includes internationally recognized cigarette brands such as Marlboro, Parliament, L&M, Chesterfield and Bond Street.

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