Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Has $10.90 Million Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 134.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,600 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,900 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for about 1.6% of Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $10,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PM. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $628,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 11,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 1,642 shares during the period. Twin City Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,780,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,810 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on 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. lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on 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. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. 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 equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of PM opened at $151.66 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.40. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $159.51. The company has a market cap of $235.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.56%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last three months. 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.