Empire Life Investments Inc. Buys 9,789 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Empire Life Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,423 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,789 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $11,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its position in Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PM. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.0 %

PM opened at $150.60 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.89. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $151.22. The company has a market capitalization of $234.16 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.24% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.