Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 143 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Verus Capital Partners LLC cut its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,396 shares of the company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kessler Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 250.0% during the first quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $105.42. The stock had a trading volume of 531,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,329,345. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $101.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.65. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.23 and a 52 week high of $106.63. The firm has a market cap of $163.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.58.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 21st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 21st. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.56%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.22.

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.