New Century Financial Group LLC Cuts Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

New Century Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 984 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 4,999 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 19,127 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,125,000 after purchasing an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after buying an additional 16,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after buying an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on PM shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $125.36 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $134.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $125.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.77. The firm has a market cap of $194.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

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.