StoneX Group Inc. Has $4.89 Million Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

StoneX Group Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,242 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,614 shares during the quarter. StoneX Group Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 60,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,310,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,249,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,714,883,000 after buying an additional 1,248,561 shares during the period. Seven Mile Advisory increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 2,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 18,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,280,000 after purchasing an additional 7,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,712,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,206,000 after acquiring an additional 309,960 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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 $158.85 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $146.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.43. The stock has a market cap of $246.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

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