State of Wyoming Acquires 5,808 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 557.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,850 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group raised Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE PM traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $174.10. 3,786,472 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,596,760. The firm has a market cap of $270.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.93 and a 1-year high of $176.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.92.

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

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is 111.34%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 106,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was 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 126,822 shares of company stock worth $18,906,185. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.