Sanders Morris Harris LLC Sells 14,578 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Key Points

• Sanders Morris Harris LLC reduced its stake in Philip Morris International by 90.5%, selling 14,578 shares and now holding only 1,535 shares valued at $280,000.
• Several large investors increased their stakes in Philip Morris, with PFS Partners LLC up by 24.8% during the second quarter and others making smaller acquisitions.
• Philip Morris recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.35 to $1.47 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Sanders Morris Harris LLC lessened its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 90.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,535 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,578 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PM. PFS Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 24.8% during the 2nd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 292 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,087 shares of the company's stock worth $2,236,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 6,932 shares of the company's stock worth $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 5,666 shares of the company's stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFP Retirement Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 2,589 shares of the company's stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, September 4th. KGI Securities began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $177.00 to $166.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $195.44.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:PM opened at $157.90 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.12 and a 52 week high of $186.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $163.15 and a 200 day moving average of $168.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.02, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 120.86%. The company had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd were given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 3rd. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is currently 111.79%.

About Philip Morris International

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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