Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Has $988,000 Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lessened its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,650 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PM. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 5,006.0% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,958,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,908,000 after acquiring an additional 5,841,696 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,416,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,495,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,869,272 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $282,785,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Philip Morris International by 79.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,878,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 5,045.1% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,122,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,484,000 after buying an additional 2,081,472 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on PM. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.05.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $120.96 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.25. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $128.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.02. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.41% and a negative return on equity of 113.32%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value of $1,038,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total transaction of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total transaction of $1,038,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.