West Family Investments Inc. Buys 1,177 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

West Family Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,675 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 119.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 120.7% during the 1st quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 8,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 4,768 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 45.2% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 2,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. grew its position in Philip Morris International by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 29,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,684,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $131.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $204.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $124.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.94.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price 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 raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped 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, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

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

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.