Welch & Forbes LLC Acquires New Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Welch & Forbes LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 14,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,768,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 108,039,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,545,430,000 after acquiring an additional 444,449 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,569,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,134,454,000 after purchasing an additional 536,968 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter worth $8,220,008,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,506,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,167,041,000 after purchasing an additional 650,587 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Philip Morris International by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,230,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,848,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,421 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $205.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.90.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:PM opened at $194.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $302.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.05. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.35 and a 12-month high of $214.35.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 183.96% and a net margin of 10.73%. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.43%.

Philip Morris International Profile

Philip Morris International is a global tobacco and nicotine company that develops, manufactures and sells cigarettes and smoke-free products. Its cigarette brands include Marlboro in markets outside the United States, along with other regional and international brands. The company’s smoke-free portfolio includes IQOS heated tobacco products, ZYN nicotine pouches and VEEV e-vapor products. Philip Morris International sells its products in markets around the world, with availability varying by country and subject to local regulations.