Atomi Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,999 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,104 shares during the quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $545,908,000 after buying an additional 5,841,696 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $282,785,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased 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 worth $595,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599,684 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 5,045.1% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,122,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,472 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,341,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,551 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PM. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America increased their price target on 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.41.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM opened at $118.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $184.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.80. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.23 and a one year high of $128.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.47%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, 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 approximately $9,877,305.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total value of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,906,095.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.