Verus Financial Partners Inc. Has $2.99 Million Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Verus Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,880 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,793 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 0.4% of Verus Financial Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Verus Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,587,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,089 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,575,742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121,732 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Philip Morris International by 38.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,940,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,520 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 52.2% during the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 3,110,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 24.7% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,841,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,246,000 after purchasing an additional 958,894 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total transaction of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,412,880.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,412,880.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded up $0.42 on Thursday, reaching $98.67. 976,898 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,671,452. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $92.76 and its 200-day moving average is $92.38. The firm has a market cap of $153.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.23 and a one year high of $100.70.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 101.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Societe Generale raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.50.

Philip Morris International Company 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.