Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Purchases 236 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,316 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 236 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $16,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 2,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 2,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.22.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.7 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $157.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $244.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.10. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $158.23.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio 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.