Metis Global Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,530 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,767 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Channing Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 88,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,280,000 after acquiring an additional 4,042 shares during the last quarter. River Global Investors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $3,905,000. TCG Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,826,000 after purchasing an additional 6,128 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 104.6% in the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 32,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,017,000 after buying an additional 16,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 10,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on PM shares. UBS Group cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.50.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was 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 owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $97.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,611,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,838,263. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $92.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.30. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $100.70.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.34%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.56%.

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.