Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Acquired by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 592,171 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,370 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International comprises about 1.8% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $93,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,780,688,000 after buying an additional 1,167,810 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216,586 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after buying an additional 3,185,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,262,000 after buying an additional 516,617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 2.4%

PM stock opened at $183.29 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.50. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.93 and a 52 week high of $183.94. The company has a market cap of $285.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $182.00 target price (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.30.

Philip Morris International Company 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.