HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 36,237 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,004,018 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,237 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $121,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 684.4% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 64.8% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $129.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $201.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.41.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. This is an increase 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target 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. 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, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.