CENTRAL TRUST Co Trims Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

CENTRAL TRUST Co decreased its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,051 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,563 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $14,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 115.0% during the first quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upgraded Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $182.00 price target (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.80.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of PM opened at $183.24 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.93 and a 52-week high of $186.69. The stock has a market cap of $285.21 billion, a PE ratio of 40.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $171.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.82.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

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.