TCW Group Inc. Takes Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

TCW Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 24,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,305,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 24,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,226,000 after buying an additional 9,528 shares during the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 33,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth $1,667,000. Enterprise Financial Services Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PM stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $99.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,053,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,802,444. The stock has a market cap of $155.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.23 and a 12-month high of $101.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.74 and a 200 day moving average of $93.24.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.20%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 101.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PM. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Societe Generale upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.50.

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.