Premier Fund Managers Ltd Sells 7,329 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 11.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,072 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,329 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 119.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 120.7% during the 1st quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 8,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 4,768 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 45.2% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 2,249 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the first quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 138.3% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 27,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 15,776 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE:PM opened at $129.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $201.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $124.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.16.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors 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 4.17%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective 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 increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.