Ashburton Jersey Ltd Acquires Shares of 23,712 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Ashburton Jersey Ltd bought a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 23,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,854,000. Philip Morris International comprises about 1.3% of Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Waterloo Capital L.P. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 36,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,184 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 14,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,801,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,755,000 after buying an additional 556,223 shares during the last quarter. Rahlfs Capital LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth about $942,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth about $1,204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays upped 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 7.2 %

NYSE:PM opened at $150.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $163.08. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $149.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.27.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.