Prosperitas Financial LLC Raises Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Prosperitas Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,933 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Philip Morris International makes up about 1.5% of Prosperitas Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Prosperitas Financial LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PM. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after buying an additional 2,785,987 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 161.6% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,936,000 after buying an additional 1,200,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,467,000 after buying an additional 1,165,554 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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 research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’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 value of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $153.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $239.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.47. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $158.39.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 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.