MML Investors Services LLC Acquires 10,018 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 578,895 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,018 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $69,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International 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 value of $1,486,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. The trade was a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $163.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $153.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.03. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.94 and a fifty-two week high of $165.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.83 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $1.35 dividend. 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 3.31%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PM. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock 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, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.78.

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.