Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $27.30 Million Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 290,123 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,827 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $27,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 100,700.1% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,640,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,582,939,000 after buying an additional 15,624,628 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 33.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,587,542,000 after buying an additional 4,304,089 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 12.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,575,742,000 after buying an additional 3,121,732 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 122.0% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,632,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,294,000 after buying an additional 1,446,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 38.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,940,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,368,000 after buying an additional 1,372,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,050.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,411,128 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $90.59 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.23 and a 52 week high of $101.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $91.07 and its 200-day moving average is $92.02. The firm has a market cap of $140.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.61.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.08). Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 116.29% and a net margin of 8.53%. The firm had revenue of $9.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Societe Generale upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.40.

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.