Covey Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Covey Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,677 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,876 shares during the period. Philip Morris International makes up 1.1% of Covey Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Covey Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 2,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Intergy Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 49 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.22.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $151.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.08. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $152.53. The stock has a market cap of $235.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.13 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 Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.