GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 5,976 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 67.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,802 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,976 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PFG Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 2,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $468,000. Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $232,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 8,511.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 672,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,250,000 after acquiring an additional 664,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Security Advisor Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 19,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,906,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on PM shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total value of $2,260,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $117.82. The stock had a trading volume of 7,405,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,061,314. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.23 and a fifty-two week high of $119.06. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 21st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

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.