Two Sigma Advisers LP Raises Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 14.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,529,899 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 192,100 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.10% of Philip Morris International worth $185,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 49 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 4.2% during the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.2% in the second quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $132.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $206.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.62. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on PM. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.