Rakuten Securities Inc. Takes $72,000 Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at $1,885,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 290,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,295,000 after purchasing an additional 6,827 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 27,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,617,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,554,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 13,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PM. UBS Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Societe Generale raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.40.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:PM opened at $90.59 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.23 and a twelve month high of $101.92. The company has a market cap of $140.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $91.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.02.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 5.74%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 103.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total transaction of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,412,880.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,411,128. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International 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.