Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Lowers Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,394 shares of the company’s stock after selling 384 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 4,464,590 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 4,298,530 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,752,926,000 after buying an additional 4,216,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,241,837,000 after buying an additional 3,185,258 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $179.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.59. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.80 and a 12 month high of $186.69.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.43% and a negative return on equity of 122.40%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. Wall Street Zen raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $205.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.80.

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.