MB Levis & Associates LLC Grows Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

MB Levis & Associates LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 594 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. MB Levis & Associates LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PM. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 24,968.0% in the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 11,275,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,041,223,000 after purchasing an additional 11,230,626 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,712,994,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,840,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,466,730,000 after purchasing an additional 4,563,632 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 57.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,794,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,554,686,000 after buying an additional 3,575,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,018,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,527,000 after buying an additional 1,635,636 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.3%

PM stock opened at $158.08 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.12 and a 52-week high of $186.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.86% and a net margin of 9.03%.The business had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $1.47 dividend. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 111.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Philip Morris International from $177.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.44.

About Philip Morris International

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.