Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Purchased by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI raised its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,609 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 5,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Beckerman Institutional LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at approximately $462,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.3% during the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 14,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,721,000 after buying an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,136,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % 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 ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $151.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $159.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $136.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.07.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.