Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Makes New $112.14 Million Investment in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 923,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,137,000. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 1.0% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned approximately 0.06% of Philip Morris International as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 684.4% during the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 64.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $130.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.62.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.