Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Stock Holdings Increased by GQG Partners LLC

GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Philip Morris International comprises about 8.7% of GQG Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. GQG Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,866,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centurion Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PM. Barclays increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $151.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $235.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $159.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $143.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.40.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Philip Morris International 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.