Jones Financial Companies Lllp Purchases 41,043 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 53.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,184 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,043 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $14,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM stock traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $153.22. 4,238,511 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,169,419. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $134.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.43. The company has a market cap of $238.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.56.

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.