Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys 49,547 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 284,979 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,547 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $34,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total value of $4,465,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 139,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,705,779.25. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.6 %

PM opened at $151.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $159.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.73.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

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.