Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Purchases New Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 31.1% in the fourth 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 period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 4.5% in the fourth 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 period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Philip Morris International by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 3,929 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its position in Philip Morris International by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 5,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 5,605.1% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 8,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $160.92 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $250.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.51. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.43 and a 12-month high of $186.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.67.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $10.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.33 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.86% and a net margin of 10.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price target (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.73.

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.