O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Boosts Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 30.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 289,920 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,906 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $34,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,780,688,000 after buying an additional 1,167,810 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,715,237,000 after buying an additional 224,840 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,886,818,000 after buying an additional 621,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,987 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $155.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $145.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.14.

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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

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.