RIA Advisory Group LLC Acquires Shares of 5,467 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $664,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 12.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,014,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,155,000 after purchasing an additional 110,360 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 117,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 53,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,498,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.85.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM opened at $128.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $199.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $134.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $124.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.44.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.