Ethic Inc. Purchases 4,350 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Ethic Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,406 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,350 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $6,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 140,621,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,320,878,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,283 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $3,466,730,000 after acquiring an additional 4,563,632 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 24,968.0% during the second quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 11,275,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,041,223,000 after acquiring an additional 11,230,626 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the first quarter valued at $1,712,994,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,794,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,554,686,000 after acquiring an additional 3,575,158 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM opened at $156.91 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $116.12 and a one year high of $186.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 120.17%. The business had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd were given a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. This is a positive change 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 106.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PM shares. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday. Twelve equities research 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, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $194.00.

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.