Wedmont Private Capital Grows Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,938 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,577 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 684.4% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Sachetta LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 250.0% in the 1st quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 57.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total value of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.41.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $120.18 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $120.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.00. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $128.22. The firm has a market cap of $186.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.41% and a negative return on equity of 113.32%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. 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 fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.