Griffin Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,435 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 442 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PM. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 93.9% during the 3rd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152 shares during the last quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Acorn Creek Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.1% in the third quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 8,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Dover Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 5.6% in the third quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 8,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.3 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $120.42 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.23 and a twelve month high of $128.22. The company has a market capitalization of $187.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $121.09 and its 200 day moving average is $108.01.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 105.47%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total transaction 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. 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 is available at the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total transaction of $2,260,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The trade was 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 Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PM. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.95.

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.