Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Acquires 23,613 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 22.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 128,855 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,613 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for about 1.8% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $12,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the third quarter worth about $27,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 428 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Societe Generale upgraded shares of 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. Finally, Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 102,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,412,880.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares of the company's stock, valued at $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total transaction of $457,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,411,128. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE PM traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $91.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,041,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,475,415. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $91.11 and a 200 day moving average of $92.01. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.23 and a twelve month high of $101.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.61.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.08). Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 116.29%. The business had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is presently 103.59%.

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.