Candlestick Capital Management LP Buys 295,735 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Candlestick Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 123.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 535,075 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 295,735 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 1.5% of Candlestick Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Candlestick Capital Management LP’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $64,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $182.00 target price (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.00.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM opened at $170.19 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.82. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $94.42 and a one year high of $171.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.90 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 111.34%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently 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.