EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,583 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,541 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upgraded Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 price target (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.8 %

PM opened at $175.39 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $97.18 and a 52 week high of $176.49. The stock has a market cap of $272.99 billion, a PE ratio of 38.89, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $158.35 and a 200-day moving average of $140.42.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is presently 111.34%.

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 transaction of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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