Cornerstone Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC reduced its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $8,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 10,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 14,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,847,000 after buying an additional 3,916 shares during the period. Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 30,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,902,000 after buying an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $460,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

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

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $125.62 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $195.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $116.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.64. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.23 and a 52 week high of $128.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.56%.

About Philip Morris International

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.