Blue Whale Capital LLP Sells 20,000 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Blue Whale Capital LLP lowered its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 405,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International comprises 3.6% of Blue Whale Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Blue Whale Capital LLP’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $41,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 684.4% in the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Sachetta LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 64.8% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 250.0% in the first quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 57.4% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $17,906,095.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $120.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $187.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.23 and a twelve month high of $128.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.57.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.05.

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.