Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Acquires 1,266 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,174 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,266 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $6,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 624,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,261,000 after purchasing an additional 69,875 shares during the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 33.1% during the 1st quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 5,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of PM opened at $126.24 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.41. The stock has a market cap of $196.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PM. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.85.

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.