WINTON GROUP Ltd Increases Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 41.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,632 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,252,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,697,000 after buying an additional 51,764 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,695,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $572,901,000 after acquiring an additional 237,543 shares during the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 40,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,878,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 4,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anthracite Investment Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. now owns 29,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $155.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.14. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51. The firm has a market cap of $241.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued 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 net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. On average, research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

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.