Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 13,696 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Park Avenue Securities LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 13.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 84,791 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,696 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $10,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PM. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 5,006.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,958,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,908,000 after purchasing an additional 5,841,696 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $282,785,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 79.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,878,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599,684 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 5,045.1% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,122,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,472 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.45.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of PM opened at $118.35 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.23 and a 12 month high of $128.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $120.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.28. The firm has a market cap of $183.98 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.47%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.