Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 612 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lessened its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 32,885 shares of the company’s stock after selling 612 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,556,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,511,292,000 after acquiring an additional 481,636 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 111,247,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,192,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684,992 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,517,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,864 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,341,050,000 after buying an additional 1,856,551 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 10,655,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,079,767,000 after buying an additional 736,961 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total value of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,906,095.47. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value of $1,038,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on PM. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.41.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $120.10 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.50. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $128.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.50%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.58%.

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.