Scotia Capital Inc. Buys 9,791 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,792 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,791 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PM. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 113.8% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 357 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley assumed 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 objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.44.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM traded up $3.63 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $157.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,904,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,570,942. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $152.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $163.08.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.