Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Acquires 9,112 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,541 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,112 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $23,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Zacks Investment Management lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 10.6% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 883,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,246,000 after buying an additional 84,668 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $112,137,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 3,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $355,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 161.6% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.5 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $130.51 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $126.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.62. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $134.15. The stock has a market cap of $202.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 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 business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.