Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,909 shares of the company’s stock after selling 771 shares during the quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Range Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 19,127 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after buying an additional 16,035 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after buying an additional 6,605 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after buying an additional 18,183 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 182.4% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 4,402 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.5 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $152.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $159.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.59.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PM. UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley assumed 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 on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

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.