Wright Investors Service Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 38,686 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,155 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International makes up approximately 1.2% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 55,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 54,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,087,000 after acquiring an additional 26,960 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 51,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,838,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 6,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $119.10. 4,124,746 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,405,261. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.15 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.23 and a one year high of $128.22. The company’s 50 day moving average is $120.48 and its 200 day moving average is $106.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its 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. 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. 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 4.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was 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 owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on PM. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.45.

Philip Morris International Company 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.