Meritage Portfolio Management Lowers Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Meritage Portfolio Management trimmed its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,455 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 624,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,261,000 after buying an additional 69,875 shares in the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 33.1% during the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 5,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,334 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 15.4% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM traded up $2.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $126.24. 6,365,289 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,293,789. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $134.15. The stock has a market cap of $196.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $124.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.41.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.85.

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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’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 owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 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.