Strategy Asset Managers LLC Purchases 479 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,199 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 479 shares during the quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.1% during the fourth 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 fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Centurion Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.1 %

PM stock opened at $155.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $145.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51.

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

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.