Brown Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 1,770 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Brown Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PM. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 684.4% in the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Sachetta LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.4% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $130.39 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $124.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 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.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.