CoreFirst Bank & Trust Makes New Investment in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Range Financial Group LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after acquiring an additional 19,127 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 6,605 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,485,000 after purchasing an additional 18,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 182.4% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 4,402 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $151.66 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $159.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $143.06 and its 200 day moving average is $131.40.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.