Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires 4,592 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 37,071 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,592 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. State Street Corp boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the third 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 stake in 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 purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,422,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,615,449,000 after acquiring an additional 190,201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.4 %

PM opened at $152.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $236.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.95.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced 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 net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders 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 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, 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 owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PM. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

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.