Boston Partners Has $747.77 Million Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Boston Partners grew its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,206,501 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 376,796 shares during the period. Philip Morris International comprises approximately 0.9% of Boston Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.40% of Philip Morris International worth $747,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PM. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after buying an additional 6,721,094 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at $522,214,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 2.4 %

PM opened at $155.49 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $159.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.