Cornerstone Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 88,600 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $10,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 15,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 7,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 6,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 76,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,212,000 after buying an additional 12,435 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PM. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped 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. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:PM opened at $150.14 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $136.66 and a 200 day moving average of $129.35. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

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.