Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Purchases Shares of 775 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 3,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $561,000. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $249,000. MONECO Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 3,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 755 shares during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 31,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on PM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.22.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $157.34 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $131.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.10. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $158.23. The firm has a market cap of $244.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

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.