Avestar Capital LLC Raises Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,787 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. 49 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $130.73 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.07. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15. The company has a market capitalization of $203.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PM shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America lifted 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. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.50.

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.