Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $7.69 Million Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 58.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,900 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,900 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 5,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Bluesphere Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 29,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.22.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded down $0.60 on Friday, hitting $100.97. 1,877,931 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,458,528. The company has a market cap of $156.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.82. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.23 and a 12-month high of $104.90.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 21st will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 101.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.