Empire Life Investments Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Empire Life Investments Inc. lowered its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 29.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 84,634 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,942 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $10,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the second quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.1% in the third quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 8,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 118,418 shares of company stock worth $15,247,052. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PM. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. Barclays boosted 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.85.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:PM opened at $130.65 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $123.70 and its 200-day moving average is $111.32. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $134.15. The stock has a market cap of $203.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. 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 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.