American Trust Purchases New Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

American Trust purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,752,000 after buying an additional 376,406 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 15.9% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 92,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,190,000 after acquiring an additional 12,670 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 56.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 175,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,362,000 after purchasing an additional 63,828 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Philip Morris International by 94.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 60,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,334,000 after purchasing an additional 29,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at $502,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This 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 Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $126.62 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 50-day moving average of $127.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.91. The company has a market capitalization of $196.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target 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 lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note 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 research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

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.