Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,774,350 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,043 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $215,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 16.3% during the second 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 purchasing an additional 1,856,551 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,554 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was 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 approximately $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.9 %

PM opened at $122.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $189.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $127.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.47. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

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.