Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Cuts Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 8.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,280 shares of the company’s stock after selling 560 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,556,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,511,292,000 after buying an additional 481,636 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 111,247,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,192,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684,992 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,517,085,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,864 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,341,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,126,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,234,963,000 after acquiring an additional 77,820 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.05.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $120.79 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $128.22. The company has a market cap of $187.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.57.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.41% and a negative return on equity of 113.32%. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate 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 paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 105.47%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.