First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires 2,615 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 19.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,218 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,615 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 4.5% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 607,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,289,000 after purchasing an additional 26,234 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Philip Morris International by 0.3% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,806,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,108,000 after purchasing an additional 20,092 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the third quarter valued at about $239,000. KB Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 29.8% during the third quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 7,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $101.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,647,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,800,795. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.08. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.23 and a 1 year high of $104.90. The firm has a market cap of $157.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.58.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.13%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.22.

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.