Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Acquired by WCG Wealth Advisors LLC

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,603 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares during the quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,780,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted 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 worth $14,752,926,000 after buying an additional 4,216,586 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company's stock worth $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company's stock worth $2,079,262,000 after acquiring an additional 516,617 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company's stock, 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 this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PM shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $182.00 price objective (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.20.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $179.23. The company had a trading volume of 5,846,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,611,923. The company has a market capitalization of $278.97 billion, a PE ratio of 39.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $163.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.39. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.93 and a 1-year high of $179.79.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. Philip Morris International's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend 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 111.34%.

Philip Morris International Company 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.