Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 51,277 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 141.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 87,473 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,277 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $10,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 16,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.4% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 11,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,433,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the third quarter valued at approximately $749,000. WealthPLAN Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the third quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.7% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 3,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE PM opened at $151.23 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $159.51. The stock has a market cap of $235.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $137.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.73.

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 7.89%. As a group, analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % 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. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.