X Square Capital LLC Has $1.55 Million Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

X Square Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,840 shares of the company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the quarter. X Square Capital LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,780,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,810 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 224,840 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,886,818,000 after buying an additional 621,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $155.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $241.33 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $145.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.91. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PM. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

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.