Headlands Technologies LLC Raises Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 414.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,274 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,163 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after buying an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. StoneX Group Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 40,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,891,000 after acquiring an additional 9,614 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 60,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,310,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,249,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,714,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,561 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 2,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PM. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 2.4 %

PM stock opened at $158.85 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.43. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.87. The firm has a market cap of $246.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a P/E/G 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. On average, 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 disclosed 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. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

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.