Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Has $3.80 Million Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,553 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $127,000. TCW Group Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 21,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $1,331,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 217,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,186,000 after purchasing an additional 2,849 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $154.39 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.23, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $154.64.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.22.

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.