Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 1,006,014 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 88.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,138,118 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,006,014 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.14% of Philip Morris International worth $389,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter valued at $238,000. Brookwood Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter worth $441,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 100,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,994,000 after buying an additional 7,046 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $177.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $180.00 target price on Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $155.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.43. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.12 and a 52-week high of $186.69.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.14% and a net margin of 9.33%.The business had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.52%.

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.