Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Purchased by First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,475 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,072 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for about 1.7% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Philip Morris International by 12.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,121,732 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,587,542,000 after buying an additional 4,304,089 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,270,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,197,730,000 after buying an additional 87,946 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,315,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $769,881,000 after buying an additional 299,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,806,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,108,000 after buying an additional 20,092 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $94.97 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.23 and a fifty-two week high of $100.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $91.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.20. The stock has a market cap of $147.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.61.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 9.83%. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.48%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 101.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PM shares. Societe Generale upgraded Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.50.

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.