Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Purchases 18,648 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 942,348 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,648 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International makes up about 0.9% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned 0.06% of Philip Morris International worth $113,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,780,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,810 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after acquiring an additional 4,216,586 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted 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 valued at $5,866,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,079,262,000 after acquiring an additional 516,617 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM opened at $173.11 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.93 and a 1 year high of $176.49. The firm has a market cap of $269.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.38, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.70.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The business's revenue 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. 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 3.12%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated 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. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $166.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 126,822 shares of company stock worth $18,906,185. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.

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