Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Grows Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,592 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 7,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 6,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 76,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,212,000 after purchasing an additional 12,435 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 348,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,893,000 after purchasing an additional 25,123 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. Barclays upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.6 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $151.23 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $159.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $137.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. Equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.