Channing Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Channing Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 88,006 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,042 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $8,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PM. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 158.0% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 454 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1,685.7% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM stock traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $97.40. The company had a trading volume of 5,611,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,838,263. The company’s fifty day moving average is $92.47 and its 200 day moving average is $92.30. The company has a market cap of $151.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.23 and a 1 year high of $100.70.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PM. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Societe Generale raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.50.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,412,880.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total transaction of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 102,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.