Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 78,938 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,085,479 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 78,938 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $612,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PM. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PM. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $155.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $241.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $145.83 and its 200 day moving average is $132.14. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.