MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Raises Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 267,634 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,424 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $32,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $163.78 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.93 and a fifty-two week high of $176.49. The company has a market capitalization of $254.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.31, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.57.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 126,822 shares of company stock valued at $18,906,185. 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.