Cerity Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 251,888 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,847 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $30,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,454 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $1,341,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International during the second quarter valued at $155,373,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,467,000 after buying an additional 1,165,554 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 52.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,296,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,047,000 after buying an additional 1,127,286 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM stock opened at $129.99 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $134.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $124.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.85.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.71%.

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.