Verity & Verity LLC Purchases 12,228 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Verity & Verity LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 72.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,003 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,228 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after buying an additional 3,363,454 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company's stock worth $235,936,000 after buying an additional 1,200,636 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company's stock worth $142,467,000 after buying an additional 1,165,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 13,666.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 999,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,367,000 after acquiring an additional 992,467 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $121.88. 5,165,969 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,837,312. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15. The company has a market cap of $189.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.33.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Philip Morris International's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is 85.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.35.

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.