Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV Lowers Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lowered its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,934 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,925 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for 0.9% of Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 26,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,231,000 after purchasing an additional 5,996 shares during the period. Dash Acquisitions Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 207,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,979,000 after purchasing an additional 11,393 shares during the period. Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 38,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,765,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of PM traded down $2.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $130.65. 5,833,198 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,368,005. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $123.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.17. The company has a market capitalization of $203.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 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 paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of Philip Morris International 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,418 shares of company stock valued at $15,247,052 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PM. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.85.

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.