Absher Wealth Management LLC Trims Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Absher Wealth Management LLC cut its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,606 shares of the company’s stock after selling 355 shares during the quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 6,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 19.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 16,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 26.2% during the first quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,407 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 41.0% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after buying an additional 3,701 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 340,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,835,000 after acquiring an additional 10,955 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $132.49. 719,571 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,344,070. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $134.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $123.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.88.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.85.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total transaction of $1,038,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value of $1,038,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 118,418 shares of company stock valued at $15,247,052. 0.13% of the stock is owned by 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.