Rathbones Group PLC Lowers Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC has reduced its stake in Philip Morris International by 5% to 38,284 shares, valued at approximately $6.08 million.
• Philip Morris reported Q2 earnings of $1.91 per share, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.86, despite revenues falling short of expectations at $10.14 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 102.66%.

Rathbones Group PLC lowered its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,284 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,005 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $6,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 during the period. Capital World Investors lifted 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 during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 during the period. 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 lifted 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. Citigroup reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.27.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM traded down $0.66 during trading on Thursday, hitting $165.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,294,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,054,380. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $175.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.30. The stock has a market cap of $257.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.41, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.48. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.12 and a twelve month high of $186.69.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 102.66%.

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.