The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 21,815 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,974,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,815 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $359,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 24,968.0% in the second quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 11,275,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,041,223,000 after acquiring an additional 11,230,626 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 26.4% in 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. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the second 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 during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 111.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,002,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580,368 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 475.5% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,325,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,557 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.00.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $149.44 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $232.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.12 and a 1-year high of $186.69. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.63.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.52%.

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.