Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Bought by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,419 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,839 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised 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. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.5 %

PM opened at $153.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $238.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $134.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 directly owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % 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 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.