Royal Fund Management LLC Buys 7,761 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Royal Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 86.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,732 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,761 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 5,006.0% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,958,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,908,000 after acquiring an additional 5,841,696 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $282,785,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in 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 period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted 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 worth $1,341,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded up $0.98 on Wednesday, reaching $119.78. The company had a trading volume of 192,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,366,628. The firm has a market cap of $186.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $120.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.00. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.23 and a 1 year high of $128.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PM. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.41.

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.