Hodges Capital Management Inc. Invests $2.86 Million in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 23,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,861,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company's stock worth $2,812,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company's stock worth $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 16.3% during 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 last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 161.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company's stock valued at $235,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $142,467,000 after buying an additional 1,165,554 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM traded down $1.85 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $128.71. The stock had a trading volume of 4,759,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,343,205. 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 moving average is $126.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PM. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Company 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.