Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Acquired by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 63.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,168,553 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 451,991 shares during the period. Philip Morris International makes up about 0.5% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.08% of Philip Morris International worth $140,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Centurion Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV grew its position in Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 2,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $154.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $239.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.80.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

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.