Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 18,833 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group reduced its Philip Morris International stake by 18,833 shares, or 0.6%, to 2.995 million shares valued at approximately $571.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 78.63% of the company.
• Philip Morris reported quarterly EPS of $2.36, exceeding estimates by $0.06, while revenue rose 5.5% year over year to $11.44 billion.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.60, equivalent to $6.40 annually and a 3.1% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $209.70.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,995,029 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,833 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of Philip Morris International worth $571,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PM. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,669,878 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,111,198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,755,662 shares in the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,662.6% in the second quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 65,695 shares of the company's stock worth $11,885,000 after purchasing an additional 63,317 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the second quarter worth approximately $505,000. Orographic Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the first quarter worth approximately $1,205,000. Finally, Addison Capital Co boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 32.5% during the first quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 31,779 shares of the company's stock worth $5,254,000 after purchasing an additional 7,793 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM opened at $208.72 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.11 and a fifty-two week high of $214.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $194.20 and a 200-day moving average of $181.93. The company has a market capitalization of $325.32 billion, a PE ratio of 30.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.32 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 183.96% and a net margin of 10.73%. The firm's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 2nd. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is presently 93.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PM. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. BTIG Research set a $221.00 target price on shares of Philip Morris International and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.70.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

Philip Morris International Inc NYSE: PM is a global tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. It was established as an independent company in 2008 following the separation of Philip Morris International from Altria Group. The company develops, manufactures and markets tobacco, nicotine and other related consumer products primarily outside the United States.

Its portfolio includes internationally recognized cigarette brands such as Marlboro, Parliament, L&M, Chesterfield and Bond Street.

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