Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $1.61 Billion Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,232,719 shares of the company’s stock after selling 674,103 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,606,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% during the third quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 4.2% during the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.3% during the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $819,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $130.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $203.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.27. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of 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 given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.50.

Philip Morris International 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.