EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 85.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,042 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,350 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the third quarter worth $279,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 437.9% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 183,622 shares of the company's stock worth $22,292,000 after acquiring an additional 149,482 shares during the period. Weaver Consulting Group purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth about $207,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,529,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $185,730,000 after acquiring an additional 192,100 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company's stock worth $6,715,237,000 after buying an additional 224,840 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.5 %

PM traded down $1.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $130.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,212,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,882,677. The company has a market cap of $203.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.06. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS 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 the consensus estimate 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 was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 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 4.14%. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International 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 value of $13,234,052.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PM. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.50.

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.