Philip Morris International Inc. $PM Stock Bought by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,565 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,612 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the second quarter worth about $8,220,008,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the second quarter worth about $3,075,267,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the second quarter worth about $1,316,151,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the second quarter worth about $726,464,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 30.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,669,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,111,198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,755,662 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM opened at $202.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $315.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $192.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.79. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.11 and a 1 year high of $210.45.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.32 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 183.96% and a net margin of 10.73%. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 93.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. BTIG Research set a $221.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.70.

About Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE:PM) is a global tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. It was established as an independent company in 2008 following the separation of Philip Morris International from Altria Group. The company develops, manufactures and markets tobacco, nicotine and other related consumer products primarily outside the United States.

Its portfolio includes internationally recognized cigarette brands such as Marlboro, Parliament, L&M, Chesterfield and Bond Street.