FourThought Financial Partners LLC Makes New $760,000 Investment in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $760,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after buying an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Mengis Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,351,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $303,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 17,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthstream Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 2,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $157.34 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $131.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.10. The stock has a market cap of $244.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $158.23.

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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 139,105 shares in the company, valued at $20,705,779.25. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,495,308.62. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PM shares. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.22.

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.