Seelaus Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Seelaus Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,389 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PM. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,999 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,125,000 after acquiring an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.4% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 6,974 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the third quarter worth about $692,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 17.9% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,203,000 after purchasing an additional 4,793 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $128.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $199.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.44. 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 results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 4.20%. This is an increase 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 is presently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on PM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned 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 $127.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.