Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Acquires 2,631 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,002 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,631 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after acquiring an additional 224,840 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,886,818,000 after acquiring an additional 621,034 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,752,000 after acquiring an additional 376,406 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $155.26 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $158.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.43, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $132.90 and a 200-day moving average of $127.89.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.