Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 1,167,810 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,167,810 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 8.97% of Philip Morris International worth $16,780,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,213,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,370,000 after acquiring an additional 146,169 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 110.3% in the fourth quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after buying an additional 6,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $704,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PM. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.8 %

PM opened at $151.25 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $142.37 and a 200 day moving average of $131.18. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $159.51. The stock has a market cap of $235.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.54, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.