Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 28,913 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 283.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,186,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,583,000 after purchasing an additional 876,790 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,634,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after buying an additional 6,974 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $857,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 54,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,087,000 after buying an additional 26,960 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $125.99 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.89. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.23 and a 12 month high of $128.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total value of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value of $1,038,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total value of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,906,095.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% 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.