First County Bank CT Lowers Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

First County Bank CT lessened its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,422 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International comprises 1.5% of First County Bank CT’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PM. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,885,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,421,000 after purchasing an additional 175,322 shares in the last quarter. Maplelane Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 2nd quarter worth about $15,909,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 2,008,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,565,000 after purchasing an additional 124,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1,800.9% during the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 110,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,191,000 after buying an additional 104,634 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on PM shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $120.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $187.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $119.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.39. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $128.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 101.56%.

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.