17,874 Shares in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Acquired by Sciencast Management LP

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,000. Philip Morris International accounts for about 1.0% of Sciencast Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kessler Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 250.0% during the first quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.22.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock traded up $0.95 on Friday, hitting $105.95. 3,519,186 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,379,059. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.23 and a one year high of $106.63.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 21st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 21st. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.56%.

Philip Morris International 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.