Exeter Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Exeter Financial LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,654 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the period. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 307.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PM. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.22.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PM traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $101.52. The stock had a trading volume of 904,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,461,290. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.23 and a 1 year high of $104.90. The company has a market capitalization of $157.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $99.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.82.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 21st will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 101.56%.

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.