Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 348,086 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,123 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $41,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PM. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $151.05 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $234.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $136.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.14. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.73%.

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.