Vest Financial LLC Grows Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 197.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,786 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,165 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter worth $5,634,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,151,000 after buying an additional 6,974 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 165.6% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 38,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,541,000 after acquiring an additional 24,093 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 90,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,465,000 after acquiring an additional 9,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,203,000 after acquiring an additional 4,793 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PM. Bank of America upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.95.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related 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 value of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other 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 sale, the insider now owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,906,095.47. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of Philip Morris International 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.0 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $118.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $121.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.83. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.23 and a twelve month high of $128.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This is an increase 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 4.54%. Philip Morris International’s 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.