Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) is Fayez Sarofim & Co’s 5th Largest Position

Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,313,383 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 685,431 shares during the period. Philip Morris International makes up approximately 3.0% of Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned approximately 0.66% of Philip Morris International worth $1,241,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $522,214,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216,586 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,241,837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,987 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $163.08 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.94 and a fifty-two week high of $165.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.78.

Philip Morris International 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.