Sunbelt Securities Inc. Acquires 16,606 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 328.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,656 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,606 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $522,214,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 372.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,453,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $656,303,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298,530 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216,586 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company's stock worth $4,241,837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185,258 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE:PM traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $179.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,420,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,595,361. The company has a market cap of $279.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $98.93 and a one year high of $179.83. The business's 50-day moving average is $163.62 and its 200-day moving average is $144.64.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. 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 research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Argus raised Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.