Independent Advisor Alliance Decreases Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Independent Advisor Alliance lowered its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 64,113 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,962 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,125,000 after purchasing an additional 201,294 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $692,000. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $560,164,000 after purchasing an additional 17,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,902,000 after purchasing an additional 5,846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.9 %

PM opened at $129.99 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.85. The company has a market capitalization of $202.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction 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 represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PM. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

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.