Covey Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Covey Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 32.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,677 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,876 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for 1.1% of Covey Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Covey Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PM shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.22.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM opened at $151.68 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.08. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $152.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.84 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Philip Morris International 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.