Clearbridge Investments LLC Grows Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,316 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,529 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Range Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company's stock worth $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 19,127 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company's stock worth $12,134,000 after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company's stock worth $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company's stock worth $6,485,000 after purchasing an additional 18,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 337,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,572,000 after purchasing an additional 20,390 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock traded down $11.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $150.47. The stock had a trading volume of 11,946,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,521,053. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.20. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $163.08. The stock has a market cap of $234.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. Research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.