BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,282,907 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,742 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.15% of Philip Morris International worth $277,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 49 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PM shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PM traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $131.45. 483,688 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,367,820. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $134.15. The company’s 50 day moving average is $124.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.07. The company has a market capitalization of $204.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders 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 positive change 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%. Philip Morris International’s dividend 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.