Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. grew its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 12.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 543,543 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,039 shares during the period. Philip Morris International comprises about 4.6% of Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $55,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,556,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,511,292,000 after purchasing an additional 481,636 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 111,247,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,192,510,000 after buying an additional 1,684,992 shares during the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 1,800,864 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings 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, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,126,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,234,963,000 after acquiring an additional 77,820 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.05.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $127.45 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.23 and a 52 week high of $128.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $114.40 and a 200-day moving average of $102.66.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total value of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.