Fire Capital Management LLC Invests $1.31 Million in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Fire Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,312,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,780,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,752,926,000 after buying an additional 4,216,586 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,241,837,000 after buying an additional 3,185,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,262,000 after purchasing an additional 516,617 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.3%

PM stock opened at $178.77 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $278.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.64, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $164.17 and a 200-day moving average of $144.87. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.93 and a 12-month high of $179.83.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $182.00 price target (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction 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 represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Company 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.