Bcwm LLC Cuts Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Bcwm LLC lessened its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,823 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,198 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International makes up about 1.7% of Bcwm LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Bcwm LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $545,908,000 after purchasing an additional 5,841,696 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,416,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,495,794,000 after acquiring an additional 4,869,272 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $282,785,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 5,045.1% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,122,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position 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 valued at $1,341,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,551 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America boosted 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 report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target 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, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.05.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $125.62 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.64. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.23 and a one year high of $128.22. The company has a market capitalization of $195.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

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.