Sapient Capital LLC Makes New $5.07 Million Investment in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 53,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,074,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PM. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 158.0% during the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PM traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $97.40. 5,611,928 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,838,263. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.31. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $100.70. The firm has a market cap of $151.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.60.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.34%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares in the company, valued at $8,860,113.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,205,859.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,250 shares of company stock worth $3,339,528. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.