Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Invests $200,000 in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Park Edge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $226,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 197,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,991,000 after buying an additional 11,560 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 30,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,722,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,517,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,264,000 after buying an additional 26,942 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM stock traded down $2.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $129.86. 3,888,565 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,367,846. The company has a market capitalization of $201.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $133.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $122.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.84.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 12.10%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 105.47%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the business’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 owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’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 owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 118,418 shares of company stock valued at $15,247,052. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.85.

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.