Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Bought by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co raised its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,710 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,673 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 283.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,186,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,583,000 after buying an additional 876,790 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the first quarter worth $5,634,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.4% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,151,000 after buying an additional 6,974 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth $857,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 54,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,087,000 after buying an additional 26,960 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total value of $2,260,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total transaction of $1,038,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total transaction of $2,260,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $123.23 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.13. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $128.22. The firm has a market cap of $191.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.02. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.41% and a negative return on equity of 113.32%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.56%.

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.