Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,202 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PM. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 29.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 322,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,571,000 after purchasing an additional 73,234 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 79.9% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 8,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,862 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 46,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,733,000 after buying an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forefront Analytics LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter valued at $278,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PM shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $127.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $197.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.97. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

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.