Essex Savings Bank Sells 657 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Essex Savings Bank lowered its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,639 shares of the company’s stock after selling 657 shares during the quarter. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 624,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,261,000 after acquiring an additional 69,875 shares in the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 5,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,334 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM stock opened at $126.24 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $134.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $124.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.85.

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.