Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Boosts Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,894 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 16.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,341,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.4% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 10,655,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,079,767,000 after acquiring an additional 736,961 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,430,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,957,000 after acquiring an additional 469,806 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.9% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 9,467,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $959,368,000 after acquiring an additional 86,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,454 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $131.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $204.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $125.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 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 company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change 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 4.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Bank of America boosted 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 note on Wednesday, September 4th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.