Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 309,960 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,712,972 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 309,960 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.30% of Philip Morris International worth $567,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.56.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total transaction of $4,465,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 139,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,705,779.25. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded up $6.19 on Thursday, reaching $162.36. 7,859,160 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,483,426. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $163.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.82.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date 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.