Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Purchases 16,397 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 104.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,068 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,397 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PM. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,575,742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121,732 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 33.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,587,542,000 after buying an additional 4,304,089 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,270,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,197,730,000 after buying an additional 87,946 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.7% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,315,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $769,881,000 after acquiring an additional 299,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.3% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,806,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,108,000 after acquiring an additional 20,092 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM traded up $0.09 on Friday, hitting $97.40. 5,611,928 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,838,263. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $100.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.31.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.34%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total transaction of $457,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,412,880.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

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.