Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Stake Lessened by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 404,291 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,363 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $49,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after buying an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,341,050,000 after buying an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter valued at $155,373,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,467,000 after buying an additional 1,165,554 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. 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 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 directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:PM traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $132.69. 114,952 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,358,104. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $125.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.30. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were given 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 4.07%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.