Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,280 shares of the company’s stock after selling 560 shares during the quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 273.4% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 48,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,934,000 after buying an additional 35,202 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 5.8% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 660,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,975,000 after purchasing an additional 35,966 shares during the period. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% during the second quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.1% in the second quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC now owns 335,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.9% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,553,000 after purchasing an additional 27,337 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $120.79 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.23 and a fifty-two week high of $128.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.57. The company has a market capitalization of $187.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 105.47%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total transaction of $2,260,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,906,095.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.05.

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.