Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Invests $200,000 in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,556,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,511,292,000 after purchasing an additional 481,636 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 111,247,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,192,510,000 after buying an additional 1,684,992 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,517,085,000 after buying an additional 1,800,864 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,341,050,000 after buying an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.4% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 10,655,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,079,767,000 after buying an additional 736,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PM. Bank of America lifted 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. Citigroup boosted 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. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.85.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PM traded down $2.94 on Friday, hitting $129.86. The company had a trading volume of 3,888,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,367,846. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $133.27. The stock has a market cap of $201.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $122.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.84.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 12.10% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 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 paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 105.47%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 118,418 shares of company stock worth $15,247,052. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.