Principal Securities Inc. Purchases 8,038 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,753 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,038 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the third 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 last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% in the third 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 raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 55.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of PM opened at $150.60 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $151.22. The stock has a market cap of $234.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $127.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.14.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 9.24%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PM. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.56.

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.