Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires 6,273 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,273 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PM. Range Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after acquiring an additional 19,127 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,134,000 after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,164,000 after purchasing an additional 17,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after purchasing an additional 18,183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total transaction of $4,465,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 139,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,705,779.25. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PM. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $151.95 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $139.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.08. The stock has a market cap of $236.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.