Kitching Partners LLC Invests $253,000 in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Kitching Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000. Philip Morris International accounts for 0.3% of Kitching Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at $150,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,091,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 149.3% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 104,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,525,000 after buying an additional 62,323 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at $12,200,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 170.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,421,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,119,000 after buying an additional 896,673 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $170.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.42 and a 1 year high of $171.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $156.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.39.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 111.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 target price (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.00.

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.