Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 12.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,786,078 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 193,308 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.11% of Philip Morris International worth $216,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 684.4% in the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Sachetta LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 267 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 318 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating 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 stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded up $0.39 on Friday, hitting $128.59. 9,066,012 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,116,835. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $124.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.69. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The business'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 firm posted $1.67 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is a boost from Philip Morris International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% 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.