New Century Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 62.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,709 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,716 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PM. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 6,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,930,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of PM opened at $121.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $188.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.23 and a fifty-two week high of $128.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $119.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.92.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.47%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International 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 value of $1,038,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on PM. StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of 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, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.14.

Philip Morris International Company 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.