SWS Partners Grows Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

SWS Partners boosted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,206 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,989 shares during the quarter. SWS Partners’ holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total value of $4,465,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 139,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,705,779.25. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $158.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $133.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.18. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $158.85. The company has a market capitalization of $246.88 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PM shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

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.