Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Takes $575,000 Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,634,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,974 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP raised 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 purchasing an additional 24,093 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,203,000 after purchasing an additional 4,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 69.6% during the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 118,418 shares of company stock valued at $15,247,052. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PM traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $129.58. 859,760 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,346,173. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $133.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $122.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 12.10% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. This is a boost 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 105.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.85.

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.