Veritas Asset Management LLP Trims Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Veritas Asset Management LLP lessened its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 101,545 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,813 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for about 0.1% of Veritas Asset Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Veritas Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $12,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 5,006.0% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,958,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,908,000 after purchasing an additional 5,841,696 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 79.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,878,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,634,000 after buying an additional 2,599,684 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,341,050,000 after buying an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,517,085,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 111,247,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,192,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total transaction of $1,038,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 118,418 shares of company stock worth $15,247,052. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.85.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.5 %

PM stock traded down $2.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $130.65. 5,833,198 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,926,983. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $123.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.32. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 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.