Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,630,177 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,347,503 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.88% of Philip Morris International worth $1,640,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 89.1% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares during the period. Whalerock Point Partners LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 11,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 1,746 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 21,303 shares of the company's stock worth $2,564,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 136,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,394,000 after buying an additional 6,418 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PM traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $170.86. 4,450,592 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,557,937. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.33 and a 1 year high of $172.03. The firm's fifty day moving average is $157.17 and its 200-day moving average is $139.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid 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 3.16%. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is 111.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PM. StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $166.33.

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.