Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,695,142 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 237,543 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $572,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Range Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 19,127 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 18,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 337,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,572,000 after purchasing an additional 20,390 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $154.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $239.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.75. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

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.