Chiron Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 35,360 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 35,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,293,000. Philip Morris International accounts for 1.5% of Chiron Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,406,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 6.6% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,030 shares of the company's stock worth $4,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company's stock worth $3,886,818,000 after purchasing an additional 621,034 shares in the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 65,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,998,000 after buying an additional 1,061 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 related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM stock traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $127.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,967,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,322,255. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $127.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.47. The company has a market capitalization of $198.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The firm 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 company's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on PM. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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 note on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus 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.