Eastern Bank Invests $373,000 in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,634,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.4% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 6,974 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 165.6% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 38,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,541,000 after acquiring an additional 24,093 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 90,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,465,000 after purchasing an additional 9,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,203,000 after purchasing an additional 4,793 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PM. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. Bank of America upped their price objective 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM stock opened at $131.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $131.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.28.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.41% and a negative return on equity of 113.32%. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. 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 4.11%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.47%.

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.