Zacks Investment Management Raises Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Zacks Investment Management raised its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 883,408 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 84,668 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 0.9% of Zacks Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $107,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after buying an additional 4,999 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,125,000 after purchasing an additional 201,294 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth $692,000. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,164,000 after purchasing an additional 17,700 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 182.4% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 4,402 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $130.51 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $126.52 and a 200 day moving average of $116.62. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $134.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International 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 owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. Barclays increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on 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, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

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.