Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Raises Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,289 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PM. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.39.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 2.7 %

PM stock traded down $3.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $118.57. 1,558,374 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,608,249. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $134.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $126.60 and its 200 day moving average is $120.47. The stock has a market cap of $184.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Company 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.