Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP Purchases Shares of 192,415 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 192,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,359,000. Philip Morris International comprises 1.6% of Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PM. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,341,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.4% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 10,655,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,079,767,000 after purchasing an additional 736,961 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted 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 worth $1,056,957,000 after purchasing an additional 469,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.9% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 9,467,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $959,368,000 after purchasing an additional 86,667 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE:PM traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $130.09. The company had a trading volume of 248,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,338,633. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $125.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.99. The firm has a market cap of $202.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued 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 upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.14% 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.