Wulff Hansen & CO. Raises Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,260 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International makes up approximately 1.1% of Wulff Hansen & CO.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Wulff Hansen & CO.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Range Financial Group LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 19,127 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 18,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.2 %

PM opened at $153.79 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $159.51. The company has a market cap of $239.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $140.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.64.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

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.