Toronto Dominion Bank Grows Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 874,884 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,941 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank owned about 0.06% of Philip Morris International worth $105,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 16,808.3% during the 4th quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017 shares during the period. Sculptor Capital LP bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $7,221,000. Shay Capital LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $1,023,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 286.2% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 37,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,184,000 after buying an additional 27,582 shares during the period. Finally, SGL Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $168,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $170.38 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.93 and a twelve month high of $176.49. The firm has a market cap of $265.20 billion, a PE ratio of 37.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.33.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group upgraded Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $182.00 price target (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.33.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 126,822 shares of company stock worth $18,906,185. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.