Ayrshire Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 3,800 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PM. 49 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.2% in the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.3% during the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 1.1% in the third quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 8,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PM. 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 note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM opened at $117.47 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.54.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Philip Morris International 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.