WBI Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,667,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 5,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.0% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 813,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,298,000 after acquiring an additional 7,745 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 8.9% during the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 31,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568 shares in the last quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the third quarter worth $576,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,317,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PM. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Societe Generale upgraded Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $87.50 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price target for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.50.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $101.07. 4,407,595 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,591,845. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.07. The stock has a market cap of $157.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $101.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,629 shares in the company, valued at $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528. 0.14% of the stock is 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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