Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Stock Position Increased by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,419 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,839 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after acquiring an additional 224,840 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,886,818,000 after purchasing an additional 621,034 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 2,785,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,422,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,615,449,000 after buying an additional 190,201 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total value of $4,465,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 139,105 shares in the company, valued at $20,705,779.25. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’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 directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $153.22 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $134.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $159.51. The company has a market capitalization of $238.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.97, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Philip Morris International 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.