Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Bought by Shell Asset Management Co.

Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,393 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 70.5% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,712 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockingstone Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC now owns 24,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,934,000 after buying an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $168.93 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.99. The company has a market capitalization of $262.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.93 and a 1 year high of $176.49.

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

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,495,308.62. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 126,822 shares of company stock worth $18,906,185. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $182.00 price objective (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Company 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.