Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Reduces Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,615 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PM. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 4,999 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after buying an additional 19,127 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after buying an additional 16,035 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 37.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of PM opened at $121.88 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $125.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.19. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15. The company has a market cap of $189.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results 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. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.