Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,068 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,556,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,511,292,000 after buying an additional 481,636 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 111,247,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,192,510,000 after buying an additional 1,684,992 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,517,085,000 after buying an additional 1,800,864 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 1,856,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,126,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,234,963,000 after acquiring an additional 77,820 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total transaction of $2,260,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now 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 at the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $1,038,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $121.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $119.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.92. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.23 and a one year high of $128.22. The company has a market cap of $188.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 105.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price 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. Bank of America increased 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 report on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.14.

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.