Balentine LLC Trims Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Balentine LLC cut its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 70.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,171 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,249 shares during the quarter. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 283.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,186,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,583,000 after purchasing an additional 876,790 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter worth about $5,634,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 6,974 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $857,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its position in Philip Morris International by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 54,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,087,000 after acquiring an additional 26,960 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total transaction of $1,038,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.05.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $127.45 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 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.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.41% and a negative return on equity of 113.32%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.