Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Purchased by Howe & Rusling Inc.

Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,128 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Philip Morris International makes up approximately 1.5% of Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $16,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 4,999 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,125,000 after purchasing an additional 201,294 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after buying an additional 6,974 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $692,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $560,164,000 after buying an additional 17,700 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction 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 owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.7 %

PM opened at $129.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $134.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.16.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

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.