River Global Investors LLP Acquires New Shares in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

River Global Investors LLP bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 41,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,905,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,575,742,000 after buying an additional 3,121,732 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 33.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,587,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,089 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,270,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,197,730,000 after purchasing an additional 87,946 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,315,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $769,881,000 after purchasing an additional 299,005 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Philip Morris International by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,806,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,108,000 after purchasing an additional 20,092 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded up $0.09 on Friday, hitting $97.40. The stock had a trading volume of 5,611,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,838,263. The stock has a market cap of $151.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $100.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $92.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.31.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.34%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Societe Generale upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.50.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total transaction of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528. 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.