Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 93,523 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,091 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $14,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fountainhead AM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the first quarter valued at about $233,000. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,280,000. SNS Financial Group LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 10.5% during the first quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 2,641 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,035,000. Finally, Birinyi Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the first quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PM shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. UBS Group set a $181.00 price objective on Philip Morris International and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.73.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE PM traded down $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $178.75. 4,649,814 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,666,761. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.76 and a 12-month high of $186.69. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $178.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.83. The stock has a market cap of $278.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.86, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.40% and a net margin of 8.43%. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Philip Morris International's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is presently 111.34%.

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.