Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd decreased its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 97,718 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,125,000 after buying an additional 201,294 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at approximately $692,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,164,000 after acquiring an additional 17,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 68.8% in the third quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 38,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,655,000 after acquiring an additional 15,630 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $132.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $205.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $125.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.30.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

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 directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PM. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.50.

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.