Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 62.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,227 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,049 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the third quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company's stock worth $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company's stock worth $25,125,000 after acquiring an additional 201,294 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 25.4% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 6,974 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at approximately $692,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,591 shares of the company's stock worth $3,203,000 after purchasing an additional 4,793 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PM. Bank of America increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.85.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $128.59. 9,055,777 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,415,413. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $124.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.21.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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 represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is a boost from Philip Morris International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.