Makena Capital Management LLC Buys New Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Makena Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 42,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,150,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 119.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,820 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.4% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 6,974 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 282,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,869,000 after purchasing an additional 47,350 shares during the period. Finally, Cloverfields Capital Group LP grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.6% during the first quarter. Cloverfields Capital Group LP now owns 55,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,066,000 after buying an additional 3,922 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $130.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $202.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $124.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.27. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

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.