Kowal Investment Group LLC Has $1.18 Million Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Kowal Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 18.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,855 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,029 shares during the quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PM. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,416,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,495,794,000 after buying an additional 4,869,272 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,575,742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121,732 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $282,785,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,439,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 216.1% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,691,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,121,000 after buying an additional 1,156,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $101.47. 1,412,525 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,469,531. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.08 and a 200-day moving average of $94.94. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.23 and a 1 year high of $104.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.58.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.12%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PM. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.22.

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.