HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Acquires 981 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 60,736 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PM. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third 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 position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.1 %

PM stock opened at $155.17 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $159.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $145.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.19. The firm has a market cap of $241.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,495,308.62. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on PM. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective 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 given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

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.