Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Sells 4,650 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lessened its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,650 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PM. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 6,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.5% during the second quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.3% during the second quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,930,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $120.96 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.23 and a 52 week high of $128.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $117.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.25. The firm has a market cap of $188.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This is an increase 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 4.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 105.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PM. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.05.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider now 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 company 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.