Scotia Capital Inc. Acquires 2,876 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 6.1% to own a total of 49,668 shares, valued at approximately $7.88 million.
• Philip Morris International's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.91, beating forecasts, with revenues of $10.14 billion, slightly below analyst expectations.
• Various brokerages have upgraded their price targets for Philip Morris International, with a consensus price target now set at $186.27 and several buy ratings from analysts.

Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,668 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,876 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company's stock worth $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,425 shares of the company's stock worth $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 3,929 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 14,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 36,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,184 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on PM. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. KGI Securities began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $170.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.27.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:PM traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $170.18. The company had a trading volume of 2,661,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,120,312. The firm has a market cap of $264.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.48. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.62 and a 52 week high of $186.69. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $176.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.84.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. Philip Morris International's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Philip Morris International's 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.