Probity Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Probity Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,101 shares of the company’s stock after selling 208 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 5,006.0% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,958,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,908,000 after buying an additional 5,841,696 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 79.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,878,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,634,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599,684 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 5,045.1% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,122,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081,472 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,341,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,551 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,517,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,864 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International 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 transaction, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value of $1,038,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the business’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 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PM. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.95.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $120.60 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.10. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. The company 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 company earned $1.60 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.47%.

Philip Morris International Company 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.