Northwest Bancshares Inc. Sells 164 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Northwest Bancshares Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,997 shares of the company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 79.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,878,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,634,000 after buying an additional 2,599,684 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,341,050,000 after buying an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,517,085,000 after buying an additional 1,800,864 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 111,247,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,192,510,000 after buying an additional 1,684,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter worth $155,373,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PM. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.7 %

PM opened at $129.54 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $134.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.16. The stock has a market cap of $201.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.