Metis Global Partners LLC Grows Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,242 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,715,237,000 after acquiring an additional 224,840 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,886,818,000 after acquiring an additional 621,034 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,752,000 after acquiring an additional 376,406 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Philip Morris International news, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total value of $4,465,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 139,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,705,779.25. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $155.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $158.39.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.