Ellenbecker Investment Group Decreases Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Ellenbecker Investment Group reduced its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,269 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,273 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International comprises about 0.6% of Ellenbecker Investment Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GQG Partners LLC grew 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 worth $545,908,000 after purchasing an additional 5,841,696 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 79.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,878,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599,684 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 5,045.1% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,122,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,472 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,341,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,551 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,800,864 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the business’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 owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. 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 research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.95.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of PM opened at $119.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $186.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $121.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.18. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.23 and a 12-month high of $128.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released 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. The company 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%. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 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.