United Asset Strategies Inc. Acquires 2,222 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 81,572 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $9,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the third quarter worth about $204,000. Tilson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $242,000. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 450.4% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 38,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,687,000 after buying an additional 31,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter worth $208,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on PM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.85.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PM stock traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $133.21. 1,632,616 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,346,223. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $123.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.73.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 12.10%. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 118,418 shares of company stock valued at $15,247,052. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.