Lifeworks Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,039 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth $522,214,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake 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 valued at $235,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,636 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of 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. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following 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 trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:PM opened at $151.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $234.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $159.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.07.

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 negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. Equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

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.