Private Trust Co. NA Increases Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,521 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,175 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the third quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,125,000 after purchasing an additional 201,294 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $692,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,164,000 after buying an additional 17,700 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,902,000 after buying an additional 5,846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $129.99 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.85. The company has a market cap of $202.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid 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 dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 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.