Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC Acquires New Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 156,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,709,000. Philip Morris International accounts for 1.7% of Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 26,141 shares of the company's stock worth $2,456,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,939 shares of the company's stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,065 shares of the company's stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 525 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.7% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 8,987 shares of the company's stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on PM shares. UBS Group cut Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Societe Generale upgraded Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $87.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.40.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.7 %

PM stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $89.48. The company had a trading volume of 5,117,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,317,615. The firm has a market cap of $139.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $101.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $91.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.20.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 116.29%. The business's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is presently 103.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,411,128. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.