Blue Whale Capital LLP Grows Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Blue Whale Capital LLP increased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 410,551 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,551 shares during the period. Philip Morris International makes up about 3.9% of Blue Whale Capital LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Blue Whale Capital LLP’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $49,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,341,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,551 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $155,373,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,554 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Philip Morris International by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,296,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127,286 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $129.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $202.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $134.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.85.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced 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 business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

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.