Assetmark Inc. Buys 72,201 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 41.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 245,798 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 72,201 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $29,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PM. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,934,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,987 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,467,000 after buying an additional 1,165,554 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $153.22 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51. The company has a market cap of $238.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $134.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.60.

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

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PM. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

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.