Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 6,374 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,592,770 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,374 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.10% of Philip Morris International worth $161,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.7% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the second quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 1.5% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 6,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 4.5% during the second quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.3% during the second quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,930,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.05.

Insider Activity

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

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $120.79 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $128.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.57. The company has a market capitalization of $187.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.47%.

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.