American Investment Services Inc. Has $2.01 Million Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

American Investment Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 75.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,360 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,168 shares during the quarter. American Investment Services Inc.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,575,742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121,732 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 33.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company's stock worth $1,587,542,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,089 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,396,354 shares of the company's stock worth $1,226,746,000 after acquiring an additional 125,919 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,439,154 shares of the company's stock worth $996,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.3% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,806,099 shares of the company's stock worth $630,108,000 after acquiring an additional 20,092 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock worth $3,339,528 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE:PM traded up $1.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $101.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,528,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,222,121. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.23 and a one year high of $101.52. The business's 50-day moving average is $95.41 and its 200-day moving average is $93.62. The company has a market cap of $157.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.60.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Societe Generale raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $87.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.50.

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.