Advance Capital Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,413 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Advance Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,780,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216,586 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after buying an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,262,000 after buying an additional 516,617 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.20.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.6%

PM stock opened at $180.74 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.93 and a 12 month high of $181.36. The firm has a market cap of $281.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $165.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.77.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 111.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.