Hancock Whitney Corp Buys 24,890 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 104,222 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,890 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $12,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company's stock worth $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $522,214,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the fourth 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,987 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $150.78.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 106,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International 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 directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $168.07 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $261.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $94.42 and a one year high of $171.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $154.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.86.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.

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