Bridgewater Associates LP Acquires 209,566 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 145.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 353,445 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 209,566 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $42,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PM. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centurion Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 2.4 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $157.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $152.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.99. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $163.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PM. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.44.

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.