Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. Trims Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. cut its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 17.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,224 shares of the company’s stock after selling 887 shares during the period. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $428,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 283.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,186,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,583,000 after acquiring an additional 876,790 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter valued at $5,634,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,151,000 after purchasing an additional 6,974 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth $857,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 54,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,087,000 after purchasing an additional 26,960 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total value of $2,260,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value of $1,038,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One 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.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.05.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $125.62 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $116.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.64. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.23 and a 52 week high of $128.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.02. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently declared 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 represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 101.56%.

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.