Transce3nd LLC Acquires New Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the 4th 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, Cravens & Co Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 10,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.1 %

PM opened at $163.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $255.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.35, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.65. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.84 and a 52 week high of $165.26.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PM. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 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 trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.