Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Quadrant Capital Group LLC

Quadrant Capital Group LLC reduced its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,771 shares of the company’s stock after selling 739 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% during the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,046,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,168,000 after acquiring an additional 16,788 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 16,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 73,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,204,000 after purchasing an additional 7,743 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 19,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Nwam LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.7% during the second quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 5,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. 79.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM opened at $91.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.34. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $105.62.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results 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. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.62% and a negative return on equity of 129.48%. The company had revenue of $9.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 27th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.70%. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 100.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Philip Morris International from $111.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $114.00 price target on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Philip Morris International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.36.

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.