WBI Investments LLC Increases Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

WBI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 81.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,144 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,368 shares during the quarter. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $16,780,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,752,926,000 after acquiring an additional 4,216,586 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,262,000 after purchasing an additional 516,617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 126,822 shares of company stock valued at $18,906,185. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price target (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM opened at $170.38 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.93 and a 12 month high of $176.49. The company has a market capitalization of $265.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $160.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.40.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

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.