Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Position Boosted by V Square Quantitative Management LLC

V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,176 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $623,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM opened at $150.60 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $151.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.16 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.14.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.24% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

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.