Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Increases Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 275,224 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,229 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $33,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PM. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued 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 an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $153.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $238.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

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.