Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. Grows Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 29.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,646 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,542 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $8,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 2,613 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 92,054 shares of the company's stock worth $11,079,000 after purchasing an additional 33,040 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,377 shares of the company's stock worth $888,000 after buying an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 6,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 1,313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE PM traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $174.10. The company had a trading volume of 3,786,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,596,760. The stock has a market cap of $270.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.93 and a 52 week high of $176.49. The business's 50-day moving average is $161.26 and its 200-day moving average is $142.92.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is 111.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 price target (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total transaction of $4,465,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 139,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,705,779.25. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 126,822 shares of company stock worth $18,906,185. Company 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.