Savant Capital LLC Purchases 1,608 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 42,722 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 valued at $2,575,742,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121,732 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 33.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,587,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,089 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,270,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,197,730,000 after purchasing an additional 87,946 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.7% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,315,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $769,881,000 after purchasing an additional 299,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,806,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,108,000 after buying an additional 20,092 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PM shares. UBS Group cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target 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. Finally, Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,050.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at $882,050.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,250 shares of company stock worth $3,339,528. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $96.04 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.25. The company has a market capitalization of $149.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $100.70.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.56%.

Philip Morris International 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.