Larson Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 227.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,100 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,317 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in 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 worth $1,341,050,000 after buying an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 10,655,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,079,767,000 after acquiring an additional 736,961 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,430,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,056,957,000 after acquiring an additional 469,806 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 9,467,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $959,368,000 after purchasing an additional 86,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM opened at $129.99 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $124.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.85. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15. The company has a market cap of $202.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on PM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

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.