New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5,605.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,957 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,800 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,825,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 93,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,251,000 after purchasing an additional 22,399 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 5,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,252,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,697,000 after buying an additional 51,764 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,695,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $572,901,000 after buying an additional 237,543 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total value of $4,465,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 139,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,705,779.25. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM opened at $158.85 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $146.57 and its 200-day moving average is $132.43.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its 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 research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.