10,000 Shares in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Acquired by Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd

Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd 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 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,000. Philip Morris International makes up 1.0% of Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. UBS Group raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 7.2 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $150.47 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $149.12 and its 200 day moving average is $133.20. The firm has a market cap of $234.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $163.08.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. The trade was a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.