American Money Management LLC Raises Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

American Money Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,168 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International comprises about 1.2% of American Money Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. American Money Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $6,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth $522,214,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,987 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 161.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,780,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $155.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.14. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $159.51. The company has a market cap of $241.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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, Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

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.