Cortland Associates Inc. MO Raises Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Cortland Associates Inc. MO grew its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 213,530 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 69,469 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for about 4.1% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $34,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 1.2% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 490,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,354,000 after buying an additional 5,681 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 295.8% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 67,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,333,000 after acquiring an additional 50,610 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 88.9% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,138,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,014 shares during the last quarter. Trek Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 732.3% in the 2nd quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 42,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,801,000 after acquiring an additional 37,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.9% in the third quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 514,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,377,000 after acquiring an additional 14,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE PM opened at $158.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $155.27 and a 200 day moving average of $162.44. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.12 and a twelve month high of $186.69.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.14% and a net margin of 9.33%. Equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $175.00 price target on Philip Morris International and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.00.

About Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is a global tobacco company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, other nicotine-containing products and a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. The firm traces its corporate roots to the 19th century Philip Morris enterprise and was established as an independent, publicly traded company following a 2008 separation from what is now Altria. Since the spin-off, the company has focused on serving international markets outside the United States.

PMI’s product mix includes traditional combustible cigarettes as well as smoke-free offerings such as heated tobacco systems and other reduced-risk products.