Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,322 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,569 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in 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 buying an additional 6,092,558 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $522,214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185,258 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,249,131 shares of the company's stock worth $1,714,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,561 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

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Philip Morris International Stock Up 3.9 %

NYSE:PM traded up $6.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $162.21. 10,578,322 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,493,627. The company has a market cap of $252.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $163.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $148.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.03.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Equities 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.