Blue Whale Capital LLP Raises Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Blue Whale Capital LLP increased its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 410,551 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,551 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 3.9% of Blue Whale Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Blue Whale Capital LLP’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $49,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake 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 valued at $1,341,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,551 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.4% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 10,655,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,079,767,000 after acquiring an additional 736,961 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,430,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,957,000 after acquiring an additional 469,806 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.9% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 9,467,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $959,368,000 after acquiring an additional 86,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’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 in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 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. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM opened at $129.99 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15. The business’s 50-day moving average is $124.77 and its 200 day moving average is $114.85.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Philip Morris International Company 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.