Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Purchased by Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd.

Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 425,653 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,633 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 3.8% of Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $40,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PM. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,587,542,000 after buying an additional 4,304,089 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,121,732 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 38.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,940,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,368,000 after buying an additional 1,372,520 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 52.2% during the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 3,110,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,956,000 after buying an additional 1,066,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 24.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,841,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,246,000 after buying an additional 958,894 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:PM traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $99.45. 3,837,890 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,704,349. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.23 and a 12-month high of $100.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $92.92 and its 200-day moving average is $92.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.23%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at $882,050.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,250 shares of company stock worth $3,339,528 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.