Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 320,218 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,754 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $38,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 4,999 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,125,000 after purchasing an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at about $692,000. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,164,000 after purchasing an additional 17,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 68.8% during the third quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 38,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,655,000 after buying an additional 15,630 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $131.82 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $134.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $125.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.53. The firm has a market cap of $204.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. This is a positive change 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 Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.