Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 85,043 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,774,350 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,043 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Philip Morris International worth $215,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew 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 during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,165,554 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PM. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International 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 completion of 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. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $122.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $127.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.47.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.42%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

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.