True Vision MN LLC Acquires 778 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

True Vision MN LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,646 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 778 shares during the period. True Vision MN LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 16.3% during the second 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. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $155,373,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,467,000 after buying an additional 1,165,554 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of PM stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $132.69. 114,952 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,358,104. The company has a market cap of $206.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.30. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The company 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%. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

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.