The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 47,496 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,190,454 shares of the company’s stock after selling 47,496 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.14% of Philip Morris International worth $265,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the second quarter valued at about $155,373,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,296,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127,286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $130.70 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15. The stock has a market cap of $203.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $124.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.07.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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 trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.