Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $9.58 Million Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,620 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,416 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $9,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centurion Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PM shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of 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, Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $151.66 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $159.51. The firm has a market cap of $235.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $143.06 and its 200-day moving average is $131.40.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by 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.