QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 23,359 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 228,461 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,359 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $27,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 224,840 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,886,818,000 after acquiring an additional 621,034 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 2,785,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,752,000 after acquiring an additional 376,406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $154.47 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $131.64 and a 200-day moving average of $127.29. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $158.39. The firm has a market cap of $240.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released 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 net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 transaction 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 approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PM. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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 lifted their target price on shares of 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 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. Finally, 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 on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus 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.