Berger Financial Group Inc Grows Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Berger Financial Group Inc grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 53.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,746 shares during the quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,780,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,810 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after acquiring an additional 4,216,586 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company's stock worth $5,866,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company's stock worth $4,241,837,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,079,262,000 after purchasing an additional 516,617 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total transaction of $4,465,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 139,105 shares in the company, valued at $20,705,779.25. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of PM opened at $170.19 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $155.51 and its 200-day moving average is $137.82. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.42 and a 12 month high of $171.73. The firm has a market cap of $264.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on PM. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.00.

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.

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