Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Stock Holdings Boosted by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,439,154 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,123,311 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International comprises approximately 1.8% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.67% of Philip Morris International worth $996,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 158.0% in the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 454 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded up $0.73 on Wednesday, hitting $100.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,214,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,616,112. The company has a market capitalization of $156.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $100.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $93.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.72.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.17%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock worth $3,339,528. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on PM. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered 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 note on Tuesday, January 23rd. 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 note on Tuesday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.50.

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.