Fred Alger Management LLC Acquires 1,492 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 32,390 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PM. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after buying an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the third 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 2nd quarter valued at $155,373,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,554 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:PM opened at $133.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.88.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.