LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Purchases 21,326 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 985.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,490 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,326 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company's stock worth $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% during 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 last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,125,000 after acquiring an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $2,912,000 after buying an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. 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 research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $153.22. The stock had a trading volume of 4,238,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,169,419. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $134.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.60. The company has a market capitalization of $238.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International 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.