Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Acquires 918 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,817 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TFB Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 6,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,400,000 after buying an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 12,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,486,000 after buying an additional 3,187 shares during the period. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $287,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $149.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $233.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $150.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.24% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.