Alley Investment Management Company LLC Acquires 1,908 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,009 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,908 shares during the period. Philip Morris International makes up about 2.5% of Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $19,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PM. FMR LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position 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 valued at $1,934,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,554 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PM. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $158.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $246.88 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $158.85. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.18.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. On average, equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.