HF Advisory Group LLC Raises Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

HF Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,998 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PM. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the third 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 increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 621,034 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after buying an additional 6,721,094 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,752,000 after buying an additional 376,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,430,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,957,000 after acquiring an additional 469,806 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM opened at $121.88 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $125.50 and its 200 day moving average is $121.19. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15. The company has a market capitalization of $189.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Company 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.