Rafferty Asset Management LLC Acquires 14,941 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,952 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,941 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $16,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 70.5% during the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 1,712 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,201 shares of the company's stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,612 shares of the company's stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockingstone Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC now owns 24,377 shares of the company's stock worth $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PM shares. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $182.00 price target (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $174.10. The company had a trading volume of 3,786,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,595,733. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.79 and a 200 day moving average of $142.70. The firm has a market cap of $270.99 billion, a PE ratio of 38.60, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $98.93 and a one year high of $176.49.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 126,822 shares of company stock worth $18,906,185 in the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by 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.