Janus Henderson Group PLC Purchases 831,580 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 178.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,297,023 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 831,580 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.08% of Philip Morris International worth $156,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,134,000 after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 18,183 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 337,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,572,000 after acquiring an additional 20,390 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $2,843,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $6,828,000 after acquiring an additional 10,703 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PM. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 price target (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group upgraded Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75% 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 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:PM traded up $1.24 on Friday, hitting $170.38. The stock had a trading volume of 3,802,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,609,891. The stock has a market cap of $265.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $160.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.33. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.93 and a 52-week high of $176.49.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given 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 dividend yield of 3.17%. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is currently 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.