Wintrust Investments LLC Reduces Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Wintrust Investments LLC lessened its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 22.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,348 shares of the company’s stock after selling 684 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 2,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $151.23 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $159.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.73. The company has a market cap of $235.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.