Sunbelt Securities Inc. Raises Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM – Get Rating) by 49.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,045 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,014 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,480,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,997,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451,582 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.0% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 100,951,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,379,979,000 after acquiring an additional 962,801 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,777,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,868,937,000 after acquiring an additional 389,746 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 22.7% in the third quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 35,468,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,944,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,558,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 30,443,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,006,398,000 after purchasing an additional 476,875 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $8,028,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,007,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,057,266.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $8,028,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,007,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,057,266.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Stacey Kennedy sold 8,756 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.31, for a total value of $887,070.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,731 shares in the company, valued at $4,835,627.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 117,064 shares of company stock valued at $11,738,763 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $94.79 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.69. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.85 and a 52-week high of $109.81.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.54 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 11.22% and a negative return on equity of 127.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.27 per share. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.36%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 22nd. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 87.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Societe Generale initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Monday, January 23rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.73.

About Philip Morris International

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Philip Morris International, Inc is a holding company engaged in the manufacturing and sale of cigarettes, tobacco, and nicotine-containing products. Its products include cigarettes and reduced-risk products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: European Union, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, South and Southeast Asia, East Asia and Australia, and Americas.