Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $382,000 Position in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 74.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,015 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 142,857,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,018,555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,235,380 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 1.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,181,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,760,346,000 after purchasing an additional 672,983 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 26.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,840,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,466,730,000 after buying an additional 4,563,632 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 24,968.0% in the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 11,275,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,041,223,000 after buying an additional 11,230,626 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter valued at $1,712,994,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:PM opened at $157.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $244.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.43. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.12 and a 12 month high of $186.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $155.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.81.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 122.14%. On average, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PM shares. KGI Securities initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Monday, August 4th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $175.00 price target on shares of Philip Morris International and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $180.00 price objective on Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

About Philip Morris International

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.