Aquatic Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 136,218 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,418 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $16,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wills Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Wills Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,663 shares of the company's stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,977 shares of the company's stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 608.9% during the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 32,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,958,000 after acquiring an additional 28,249 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,375,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,356 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PM. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 price target (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock traded up $1.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $170.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,346,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,569,066. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.42 and a 1-year high of $171.63. The company has a market capitalization of $265.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $155.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.16.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business'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 transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 106,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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.