Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP reduced its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 58.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,394 shares of the company’s stock after selling 97,187 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 104,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,817,000 after acquiring an additional 6,209 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 24,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,334,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,608,000 after acquiring an additional 6,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM opened at $121.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $119.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.92. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.23 and a 1 year high of $128.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 105.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Bank of America raised their target price 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.14.

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.