Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Purchased by Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc.

Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,057 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 170 shares during the quarter. Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 56,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,828,000 after purchasing an additional 10,703 shares in the last quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 94,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after buying an additional 9,789 shares during the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 80.9% during the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 3,425 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 2,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Symmetry Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at $1,966,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE PM opened at $174.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $270.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.93 and a 52-week high of $176.49. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $161.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.92.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 111.34%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 126,822 shares of company stock worth $18,906,185 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $182.00 price target (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.33.

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.