GWN Securities Inc. Invests $765,000 in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

GWN Securities Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 6,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $765,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PM. State Street Corp boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after purchasing an additional 224,840 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,886,818,000 after purchasing an additional 621,034 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,422,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,615,449,000 after purchasing an additional 190,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at $15,795,295.48. The trade was a 8.60 % 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 three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM opened at $151.95 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $139.10 and its 200-day moving average is $130.19. The company has a market capitalization of $236.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on 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 Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.