Clarity Financial LLC Raises Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Clarity Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,110 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the quarter. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PM. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 76,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,061,000 after acquiring an additional 3,525 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter worth $8,991,000. TFB Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter valued at $254,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter valued at $355,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 118,418 shares of company stock valued at $15,247,052. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.85.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.2 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $130.33 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $123.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.75. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15. The company has a market cap of $202.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The firm 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 company earned $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is a boost 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 4.14%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

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.