West Family Investments Inc. Purchases 1,177 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

West Family Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 33.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,675 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the third quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,125,000 after acquiring an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after purchasing an additional 6,974 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $692,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,164,000 after purchasing an additional 17,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price target 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, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One equities 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, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $131.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $204.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $124.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.94.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

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.