Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Holdings Lowered by Anthracite Investment Company Inc.

Anthracite Investment Company Inc. lowered its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 27.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,771 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International makes up 1.5% of Anthracite Investment Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Anthracite Investment Company Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 111,247,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,192,510,000 after buying an additional 1,684,992 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,517,085,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,864 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 16.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,056,957,000 after purchasing an additional 469,806 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value 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 approximately $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $129.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $124.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.16. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is a positive change 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 4.17%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

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.