Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 1,800 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,734 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $11,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 104,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,817,000 after purchasing an additional 6,209 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Philip Morris International by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 24,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,292,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,334,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,608,000 after acquiring an additional 6,508 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related 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 value of $1,038,150.00. Following 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:PM opened at $121.39 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.23 and a 12 month high of $128.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $119.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.92. The stock has a market cap of $188.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 105.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PM. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays upped 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 report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.68.

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.