Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 44.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,801,148 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 556,223 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.12% of Philip Morris International worth $216,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Range Financial Group LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company's stock worth $2,758,000 after acquiring an additional 19,127 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company's stock worth $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company's stock worth $2,912,000 after purchasing an additional 6,605 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew 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 valued at $6,485,000 after buying an additional 18,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 337,119 shares of the company's stock worth $40,572,000 after acquiring an additional 20,390 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus raised Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.2 %

PM traded up $0.31 during trading on Monday, hitting $150.93. 9,838,933 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,538,832. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $163.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $149.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.57. The firm has a market cap of $234.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company'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 value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.