Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Stake Boosted by Hardy Reed LLC

Hardy Reed LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,335 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,185 shares during the quarter. Hardy Reed LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PM. 49 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the third quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.2% in the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.2% in the second quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup upped their target price 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $132.68. 1,076,653 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,362,500. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.29 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $134.15. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $125.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.30.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 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%. Philip Morris International's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. This is an increase from Philip Morris International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owns 95,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by 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.