First County Bank CT Reduces Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

First County Bank CT cut its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 14.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,437 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,985 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for about 1.5% of First County Bank CT’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,341,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,551 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter worth $155,373,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,554 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 52.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,296,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127,286 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PM shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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 raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $131.26 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $124.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.39. The stock has a market cap of $204.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 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. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

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.