Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Bought by Dash Acquisitions Inc.

Dash Acquisitions Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 213,024 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,271 shares during the period. Philip Morris International makes up about 6.2% of Dash Acquisitions Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Dash Acquisitions Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $27,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PM. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after purchasing an additional 224,840 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,886,818,000 after buying an additional 621,034 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,752,000 after acquiring an additional 376,406 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after buying an additional 3,363,454 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.22.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $149.64 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $128.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.90. The stock has a market cap of $232.67 billion, a PE ratio of 33.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $151.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.