Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Has $314,000 Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,609 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Range Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after buying an additional 19,127 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,125,000 after acquiring an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after purchasing an additional 6,605 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the third quarter valued at approximately $692,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total transaction of $4,465,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 139,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,705,779.25. This 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 accessible through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE PM opened at $151.05 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $159.51. The company has a market capitalization of $234.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $136.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.07.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced 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 negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, 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 will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.73%.

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.