Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 1,464 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 263,775 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $31,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $173.21 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.65 and a 12-month high of $173.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $157.54 and a 200 day moving average of $139.94.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is currently 111.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PM. UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.33.

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.

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