Royal Fund Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Royal Fund Management LLC lowered its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 47.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,792 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,940 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 17,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,054,000 after buying an additional 1,702 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 216.4% in the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,521,000 after purchasing an additional 14,326 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. now owns 4,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of PM opened at $123.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $125.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.61. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.35.

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.