Shay Capital LLC Invests $1.02 Million in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Shay Capital LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 8,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,023,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PM. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after purchasing an additional 18,183 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in Philip Morris International by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 56,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,828,000 after buying an additional 10,703 shares in the last quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. grew its position in Philip Morris International by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 94,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after buying an additional 9,789 shares in the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 80.9% during the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM stock opened at $168.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $159.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.99. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.93 and a fifty-two week high of $176.49.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 111.34%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 126,822 shares of company stock worth $18,906,185 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.