Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires 4,416 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 79,620 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,416 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $9,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 19,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after acquiring an additional 4,958 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 17.1% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,283,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at $5,464,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 227.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 9,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 6,317 shares during the period. Finally, Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PM shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE PM opened at $151.66 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $143.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.40. The company has a market capitalization of $235.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Research analysts anticipate 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 paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Philip Morris International’s 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.