Bank of New York Mellon Corp Acquires 2,785,987 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,934,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in 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 worth $235,936,000 after buying an additional 1,200,636 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 44.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,170,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,432,000 after buying an additional 969,198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $156.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $242.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $130.42 and a 200 day moving average of $126.81. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $156.63.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.22.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value 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. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.