The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,190,454 shares of the company’s stock after selling 47,496 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $265,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 684.4% in the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the second quarter worth $25,000. Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 64.8% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 57.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. Bank of America boosted their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE PM opened at $130.70 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $134.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $124.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.07. The stock has a market cap of $203.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by 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.