Allianz SE Takes $30.54 Million Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 253,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,544,000. Philip Morris International comprises about 0.8% of Allianz SE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after acquiring an additional 19,127 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after purchasing an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,485,000 after purchasing an additional 18,183 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 337,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,572,000 after buying an additional 20,390 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $155.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $145.83 and its 200 day moving average is $132.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on 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 owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

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.