Principal Securities Inc. Purchases 8,038 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,753 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,038 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PM. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 13,666.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 999,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,367,000 after buying an additional 992,467 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.56.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM opened at $150.60 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $151.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.16 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $127.47 and its 200 day moving average is $125.14.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results 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 9.24%. As a group, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other 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 transaction, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is 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.