Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 328,179 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,582 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $59,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,023 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the first quarter valued at approximately $238,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the first quarter valued at approximately $378,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 47,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,477,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PM. Morgan Stanley set a $175.00 target price on Philip Morris International and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Philip Morris International from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Philip Morris International from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $147.87 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $116.12 and a one year high of $186.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $154.50 and a 200 day moving average of $166.13. The stock has a market cap of $230.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.42.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.14% and a net margin of 9.33%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd were issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 3rd. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 106.52%.

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.