Advisory Research Inc. Buys 27,187 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Advisory Research Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 29.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 120,785 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,187 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 2.4% of Advisory Research Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Advisory Research Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $14,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at about $206,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 38.5% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 46,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 23,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,841,000 after buying an additional 16,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 567.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,152,000 after buying an additional 43,075 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on PM shares. 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. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.78.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $160.41 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.34. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.30 and a fifty-two week high of $163.08. The firm has a market cap of $249.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 8.60 % 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 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.