Verity & Verity LLC Cuts Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Verity & Verity LLC lessened its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 489 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PM. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 79.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,878,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,634,000 after buying an additional 2,599,684 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 1,856,551 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,517,085,000 after buying an additional 1,800,864 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 111,247,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,192,510,000 after buying an additional 1,684,992 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter worth about $155,373,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $131.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $204.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $134.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $124.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.94.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. 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 4.10%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PM. StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.50.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, 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. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.