Blue Trust Inc. Grows Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,004 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,498 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 14,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.1% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 10,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $916,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 17,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 38.8% during the 1st quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 4,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Finally, &PARTNERS grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 86.4% during the 1st quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 5,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $120.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $186.86 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $121.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.38. 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 announced its 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. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Bank of America increased 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. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $103.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on 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 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.95.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

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 directly owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $1,038,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. 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.

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.