Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,322 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,569 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $522,214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 9.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,249,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,714,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,561 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on PM. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. The trade was a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of PM opened at $158.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.66. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.