First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Position in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,584 shares of the company’s stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for 2.7% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $13,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its position in Philip Morris International by 4.7% during the second quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 16,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its position in Philip Morris International by 15.7% during the second quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 5,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. JB Capital LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 4.7% during the second quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 5,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 13.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 27,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,013,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 4.8% during the second quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. KGI Securities assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Monday, August 4th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on Philip Morris International from $177.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.44.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $160.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $164.24 and a 200 day moving average of $168.67. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.12 and a 12 month high of $186.69. The firm has a market cap of $249.85 billion, a PE ratio of 30.52, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.86% and a net margin of 9.03%.The company had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.79%.

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.