ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 25,859 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 222,094 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,859 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $26,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,780,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after buying an additional 4,216,586 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,241,837,000 after buying an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,262,000 after acquiring an additional 516,617 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 have sold 126,822 shares of company stock valued at $18,906,185 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on PM. Barclays lifted their price target 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, May 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE PM opened at $170.38 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.26. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.93 and a 12-month high of $176.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $265.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share 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. 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 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

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.