Ground Swell Capital LLC Takes $326,000 Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised 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 during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 6,092,558 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $4,241,837,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,262,000 after acquiring an additional 516,617 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $169.61 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $98.93 and a one year high of $176.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $158.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.05.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 111.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last ninety days. 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.