LPL Financial LLC Purchases 146,169 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,213,298 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 146,169 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Philip Morris International worth $266,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company's stock worth $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 19,127 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,134,000 after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company's stock worth $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 18,183 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 182.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 4,402 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $155.17. 4,333,126 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,471,067. The company has a 50-day moving average of $145.83 and a 200-day moving average of $132.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G 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 $159.51.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target 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. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of 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, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.56.

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.