Empirical Finance LLC Has $5.14 Million Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,069 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,885 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PM. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,416,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,495,794,000 after buying an additional 4,869,272 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Philip Morris International by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,575,742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121,732 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,396,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,226,746,000 after purchasing an additional 125,919 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Philip Morris International by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,126,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,234,963,000 after purchasing an additional 77,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,439,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123,311 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $105.95. 3,518,986 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,378,927. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.58. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.23 and a 52 week high of $106.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.45.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 21st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 21st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.91%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.22.

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.