Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,014,452 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 110,360 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Philip Morris International worth $123,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 5,006.0% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,958,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,908,000 after purchasing an additional 5,841,696 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $595,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599,684 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,856,551 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,517,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings 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 worth $10,192,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684,992 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $128.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.44.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. 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 currently 85.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report 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 report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.85.

Philip Morris International 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.