Westpac Banking Corp Takes $728,000 Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Westpac Banking Corp bought a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $728,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PM. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.56.

Remove Ads

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $150.93. The company had a trading volume of 9,838,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,538,832. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $163.08. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $149.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.57. The stock has a market cap of $234.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 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 anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chairman now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.