Wallace Advisory Group LLC Lowers Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Wallace Advisory Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,208 shares of the company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for 1.0% of Wallace Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Wallace Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,556,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,511,292,000 after purchasing an additional 481,636 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position 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 worth $10,192,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684,992 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position 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 worth $5,517,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,864 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,856,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 7.4% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 10,655,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,079,767,000 after purchasing an additional 736,961 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.45.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PM traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $119.10. 4,124,746 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,405,261. The firm has a market cap of $185.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.23 and a 12-month high of $128.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $120.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.45.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 yield of 4.53%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 105.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,906,095.47. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,906,095.47. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.