2,514 Shares in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Bought by Lazari Capital Management Inc.

Lazari Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Evoke Wealth LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 104,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,817,000 after buying an additional 6,209 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 24,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 120,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,333,000 after purchasing an additional 4,820 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM opened at $120.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.23 and a fifty-two week high of $128.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $120.10 and a 200 day moving average of $106.10.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 EPS 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 business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is 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 4.48%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 105.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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 boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.68.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.