WBI Investments LLC Raises Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

WBI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 81.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,144 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,368 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital & Planning LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 2,613 shares of the company's stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 24,458 shares of the company's stock worth $2,944,000 after buying an additional 1,838 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 65,613 shares of the company's stock worth $7,896,000 after buying an additional 11,846 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,318,000 after purchasing an additional 5,219 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 4,139 shares of the company's stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 target price (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.20.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $175.23. 4,764,762 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,598,385. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $161.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.13. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.93 and a 12-month high of $176.49. The company has a market cap of $272.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

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.