Sharp Financial Services LLC Acquires Shares of 1,884 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sharp Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $712,210,000 after acquiring an additional 4,464,590 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 372.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,298,530 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the fourth 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on PM. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of 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 raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 target price (up from $205.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.80.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM traded up $3.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $179.00. The stock had a trading volume of 2,734,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,642,713. The company has a market cap of $278.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.51. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.62 and a 12-month high of $186.69. The company's 50 day moving average is $177.14 and its 200-day moving average is $154.59.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.43% and a negative return on equity of 122.40%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. On average, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

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.