Griffith & Werner Inc. Acquires Shares of 2,469 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Griffith & Werner Inc. bought a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 56,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,828,000 after buying an additional 10,703 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 94,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,364,000 after buying an additional 9,789 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 80.9% during the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Finally, Symmetry Investments LP acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,966,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded up $1.04 on Tuesday, reaching $179.23. 5,847,071 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,611,928. The company has a market capitalization of $278.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.93 and a 52 week high of $179.79. The firm's 50-day moving average is $163.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.39.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is currently 111.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PM. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 target price (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.20.

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.