Blair William & Co. IL Purchases 8,526 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,362 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,526 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $15,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $1,341,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,126,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,234,963,000 after purchasing an additional 77,820 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total value of $2,260,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total value of $2,260,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PM. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.05.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $119.77 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.23 and a 52 week high of $128.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $117.87 and its 200 day moving average is $104.35. The company has a market cap of $186.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 105.47%.

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.