Hilltop Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 4,845 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Hilltop Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 4,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,000.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of Philip Morris International 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM opened at $153.95 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $158.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $132.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.47. The company has a market cap of $239.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

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.