New Century Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

New Century Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 62.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,709 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,716 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $984,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PM. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 6,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.5% in the second quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.3% in the second quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,930,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other 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 value of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,906,095.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Bank of America increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.14.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $121.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap 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. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.23 and a fifty-two week high of $128.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.92.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.47%.

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.