Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Sells 1,438 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 327,081 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,438 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 2.1% of Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $39,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Cravens & Co Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 10,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 target price (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.33.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 126,822 shares of company stock valued at $18,906,185. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $170.38 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.40. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.93 and a 52 week high of $176.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $265.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 111.34%.

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.