Mosaic Financial Group LLC Invests $225,000 in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Mosaic Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,990,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.1% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 189,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,010,000 after purchasing an additional 9,112 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 10.6% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 883,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,246,000 after purchasing an additional 84,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $112,137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value 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 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $130.56 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $126.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.95. The firm has a market cap of $203.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

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.