Ellenbecker Investment Group Trims Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Ellenbecker Investment Group trimmed its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,555 shares of the company’s stock after selling 651 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 0.6% of Ellenbecker Investment Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 11,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 506,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,020,000 after buying an additional 23,068 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 3,556 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Societe Generale upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.40.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 3.8 %

PM stock traded up $3.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $97.66. 12,386,113 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,646,264. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.06. The company has a market cap of $151.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.61. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.23 and a one year high of $100.79.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $9.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 116.29%. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.32%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares in the company, valued at $9,412,880.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,411,128 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.