NorthRock Partners LLC Purchases 139,016 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 189.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 212,268 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 139,016 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for about 0.8% of NorthRock Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $25,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,780,688,000 after buying an additional 1,167,810 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after buying an additional 4,216,586 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after buying an additional 3,185,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,262,000 after purchasing an additional 516,617 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 126,822 shares of company stock valued at $18,906,185 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $163.78 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.93 and a fifty-two week high of $176.49. The company has a market capitalization of $254.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.31, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $159.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.57.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 111.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $182.00 price target (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.33.

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.