Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 6,827 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 290,123 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,827 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $27,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 43,512,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,403,883,000 after acquiring an additional 411,358 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 12.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,575,742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121,732 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 33.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,587,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,089 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,050,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,332,355,000 after purchasing an additional 260,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 100,700.1% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,640,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,582,939,000 after purchasing an additional 15,624,628 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PM shares. Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,050.94. 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, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,250 shares of company stock worth $1,411,128 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM opened at $90.59 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.02. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.23 and a one year high of $101.92. The company has a market capitalization of $140.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.61.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.08). Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 116.29% and a net margin of 8.53%. The company had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.59%.

Philip Morris International Company 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.