State of Wyoming Grows Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

State of Wyoming raised its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 557.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,850 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $522,214,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 372.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,453,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,303,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298,530 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 4th 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 9.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. 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 three months. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM opened at $170.38 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $98.93 and a one year high of $176.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $160.35 and its 200-day moving average is $142.33. The company has a market capitalization of $265.20 billion, a PE ratio of 37.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PM shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. UBS Group upgraded Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price target (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.