Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 322,963 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 52,692 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $39,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% in the third quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 9,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,211,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 29,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,555,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 227.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 9,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after buying an additional 6,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Managed Asset Portfolios LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.2% during the third quarter. Managed Asset Portfolios LLC now owns 15,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,898,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM stock opened at $129.99 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $124.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.74.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.