Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Raises Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,971 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Philip Morris International makes up approximately 0.1% of Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 16.3% in 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 buying an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $155,373,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,296,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127,286 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America increased 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 note on Wednesday, September 4th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International 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. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $129.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $202.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.74. 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 earnings per share 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 10.35%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. This is a positive change 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 presently 85.71%.

Philip Morris International 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.