Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 81,420 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. cut its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,226,145 shares of the company’s stock after selling 81,420 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.08% of Philip Morris International worth $124,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 283.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,186,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,583,000 after purchasing an additional 876,790 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter valued at $5,634,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after buying an additional 6,974 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth $857,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 54,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,087,000 after acquiring an additional 26,960 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 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, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.05.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $127.45 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.23 and a 1 year high of $128.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.66. The stock has a market cap of $198.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total value of $2,260,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,906,095.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total transaction of $1,038,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total transaction of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,906,095.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.