Philip Morris International Inc. $PM Stock Holdings Lessened by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 104,128 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,786 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $19,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 108,039,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,545,430,000 after buying an additional 444,449 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,569,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,134,454,000 after buying an additional 536,968 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the second quarter worth $8,220,008,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Philip Morris International by 3.9% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,506,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,167,041,000 after acquiring an additional 650,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the second quarter worth $3,075,267,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PM. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. 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. Finally, BTIG Research set a $221.00 target price on shares of Philip Morris International and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $213.90.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.6%

Philip Morris International stock opened at $194.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $302.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $195.73 and its 200-day 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were issued 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 a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 93.43%.

Philip Morris International Company 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.