Optimize Financial Inc Invests $600,000 in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $600,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 142,857,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,018,555,000 after buying an additional 2,235,380 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,831,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,243,429,000 after acquiring an additional 871,165 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,181,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,760,346,000 after acquiring an additional 672,983 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 24,968.0% during the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 11,275,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,041,223,000 after acquiring an additional 11,230,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 7.9% during the second quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 10,676,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,944,585,000 after acquiring an additional 782,536 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $177.02 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $162.50 and a 200-day moving average of $161.26. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.91 and a twelve month high of $186.69. The firm has a market cap of $275.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.39.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 106.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Philip Morris International from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $175.00 target price on shares of Philip Morris International and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $180.00 price target on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.56.

Philip Morris International Profile

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.