Advisors Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,973 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,512 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $15,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter worth about $749,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,035,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 233.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 21,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,670,000 after purchasing an additional 15,404 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,884,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group boosted 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. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM opened at $155.49 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $139.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.42. The company has a market cap of $241.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its 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%. On average, analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors 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 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.