Scotia Capital Inc. Acquires 9,791 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 46,792 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,791 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 4.1% during 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 during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Centurion Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM opened at $153.85 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $163.08. The firm has a market cap of $239.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $152.03 and its 200-day moving average is $134.63.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Philip Morris International 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.