Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 61,464 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,967,549 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,464 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.19% of Philip Morris International worth $289,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 127.0% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 370 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Spotlight Asset Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 79.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Friday, September 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $111.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.80.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM opened at $91.73 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $105.62. The company has a market capitalization of $142.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $92.28 and a 200-day moving average of $94.37.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 19th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $9.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.21 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.62% and a negative return on equity of 129.48%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 27th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.67%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 26th. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.97%.

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.