Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,217 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,215 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital & Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 2,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,023 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $620,000 after buying an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $287,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.80.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $183.98 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.93 and a 1-year high of $184.50. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $169.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.87. The company has a market capitalization of $286.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.79, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.