Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Purchases New Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 26,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,149,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 12,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 50,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,049,000 after purchasing an additional 4,278 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 3,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 79,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,582,000 after purchasing an additional 4,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baxter Bros Inc. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 3,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM opened at $152.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $236.91 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $143.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.59. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PM shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lifted 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Profile

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.