Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 418 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Meritage Portfolio Management lessened its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,357 shares of the company’s stock after selling 418 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $6,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 1,685.7% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 102,918 shares in the company, valued at $9,412,880.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 94,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,411,128. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of PM stock traded down $1.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $95.05. 3,004,838 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,741,192. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.18. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $100.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.61.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.83% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note 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 objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.50.

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.