Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Buys 62,323 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 149.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 104,073 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 62,323 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $12,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PM. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at $12,200,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 170.7% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,421,848 shares of the company's stock worth $171,119,000 after buying an additional 896,673 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $289,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 44.4% in the 4th quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,468,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $778,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,987,716 shares during the period. Finally, Candlestick Capital Management LP lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 123.6% during the fourth quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP now owns 535,075 shares of the company's stock worth $64,396,000 after acquiring an additional 295,735 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PM traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $170.86. The stock had a trading volume of 4,450,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,557,720. The company has a market capitalization of $265.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The company's 50-day moving average price is $157.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.44. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.65 and a fifty-two week high of $172.03.

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

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 target price (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group upgraded Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $166.33.

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.