Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Acquired by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 25.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,215 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,780,688,000 after buying an additional 1,167,810 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew 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 buying an additional 224,840 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,886,818,000 after acquiring an additional 621,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.1 %

PM stock opened at $151.66 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $159.51. The firm has a market cap of $235.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.40.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.