Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Bought by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 297,727 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,345 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $35,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total value of $4,465,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 139,105 shares in the company, valued at $20,705,779.25. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 126,822 shares of company stock valued at $18,906,185 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PM. StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $174.10 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $98.93 and a one year high of $176.49. The firm has a market cap of $270.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $161.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. 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 3.10%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

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.

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