Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Acquired by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,252,159 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,764 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 0.08% of Philip Morris International worth $150,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,695,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $572,901,000 after acquiring an additional 237,543 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 40,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,878,000 after purchasing an additional 3,352 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 4,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. now owns 29,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,149,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $154.27 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.75. The company has a market capitalization of $239.87 billion, a PE ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. UBS Group upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.