Ground Swell Capital LLC Takes $326,000 Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $182.00 price target (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $166.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company'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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of PM traded down $5.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $164.62. 10,006,392 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,589,229. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.93 and a twelve month high of $176.49. The company has a market cap of $256.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.50, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $158.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.18.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio 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.