Primecap Management Co. CA Cuts Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,600 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $6,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 5,006.0% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,958,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,908,000 after buying an additional 5,841,696 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,416,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,495,794,000 after acquiring an additional 4,869,272 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth $282,785,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 79.3% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 5,045.1% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,122,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,472 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PM. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average 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. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $128.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.41% and a negative return on equity of 113.32%. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total transaction of $1,038,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 approximately $9,877,305.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.