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

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,695,142 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 237,543 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.30% of Philip Morris International worth $572,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of PM opened at $154.27 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $144.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.75. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

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 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

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

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.