Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 401,949 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 401,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,375,000. Philip Morris International makes up about 0.7% of Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.8% in 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 during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the fourth 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 increased its position in Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,262,000 after acquiring an additional 516,617 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $182.00 price objective (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.00.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.1 %

PM stock opened at $170.19 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.42 and a 52 week high of $171.63. The company has a market cap of $264.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $155.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.57.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 111.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % 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 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.