Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Bard Financial Services Inc.

Bard Financial Services Inc. decreased its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,647 shares of the company’s stock after selling 975 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 43,512,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,403,883,000 after buying an additional 411,358 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,959,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,399,777,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,408 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,296,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,061,665,000 after acquiring an additional 449,971 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,448,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,085,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099,430 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.8% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,211,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,576,522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.70% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.5 %

PM opened at $95.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $148.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.71. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.85 and a 52-week high of $105.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.06.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.76 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 11.63% and a negative return on equity of 127.84%. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.19 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.43%. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 22nd Century Group reiterated a “reiterates” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $113.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $109.00 to $117.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.70.

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.