Symmetry Investments LP Invests $1.97 Million in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Symmetry Investments LP acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,966,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 27,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 122.8% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 51,438 shares of the company's stock worth $6,191,000 after purchasing an additional 28,353 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 5,287 shares of the company's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 10,313,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,241,216,000 after buying an additional 685,431 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 23,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,823,000 after buying an additional 3,652 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PM. Citigroup boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $182.00 price target (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM stock traded down $1.48 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $168.77. The stock had a trading volume of 3,168,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,550,204. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.82. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.42 and a fifty-two week high of $171.73.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

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.