Arvest Bank Trust Division Boosts Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Arvest Bank Trust Division increased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,478 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $522,214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,241,837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185,258 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after buying an additional 2,785,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,249,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,714,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,561 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.2 %

PM stock opened at $160.41 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $153.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.34. The stock has a market cap of $249.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $89.30 and a twelve month high of $163.08.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.78.

Philip Morris International 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.