First City Capital Management Inc. Buys 664 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

First City Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,188 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,129 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 68.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,774,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,406,000 after purchasing an additional 85,043 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the third quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Finally, Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % 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 101,918 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM traded up $0.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $122.07. 1,102,225 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,227,974. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $127.58 and a 200-day moving average of $119.76. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.42%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

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.