Quest Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 233.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,993 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,404 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company's stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 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 last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the second quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the company's stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PM shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised 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. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % 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, 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM traded up $3.13 during trading on Monday, hitting $131.72. The stock had a trading volume of 4,896,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,413,178. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15. The company's 50-day moving average price is $124.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.94.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The business's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This is a boost from Philip Morris International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.71%.

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.