Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 25,344 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,437,435 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,344 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Philip Morris International worth $417,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 158.0% in the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 454 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 178,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 102,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $100.23. The company had a trading volume of 5,494,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,603,864. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $94.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.23 and a one year high of $101.46.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Societe Generale upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $87.50 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group cut shares of Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.