Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253,087 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,759 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $30,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 260,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,857,000 after buying an additional 20,108 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 41.0% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,238 shares of the company's stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. Managed Asset Portfolios LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 83.0% in the 1st quarter. Managed Asset Portfolios LLC now owns 17,727 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 8,039 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,918,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $908,778,000 after purchasing an additional 902,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 4.9% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,675 shares of the company's stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on 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 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 directly owns 95,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PM stock traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $125.24. 4,691,439 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,392,335. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.02. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. 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.