Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Boosts Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,824 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,587,542,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,089 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,575,742,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121,732 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,940,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372,520 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 3,110,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,841,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,246,000 after acquiring an additional 958,894 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $95.02 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.23 and a 12-month high of $100.79. The company has a market cap of $147.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $91.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.18.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 9.83%. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.47%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on PM shares. UBS Group downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Societe Generale upgraded Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.50.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,050.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock worth $3,339,528. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.