InvesTrust Purchases New Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

InvesTrust acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 60,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,224,000. Philip Morris International accounts for about 2.0% of InvesTrust’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the third quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,125,000 after buying an additional 201,294 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $692,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $560,164,000 after buying an additional 17,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PM. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE:PM traded down $0.18 on Wednesday, reaching $121.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,779,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,672,592. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15. The company has a market cap of $188.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $127.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.45.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

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.