Prosperitas Financial LLC Grows Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Prosperitas Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,933 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 1.5% of Prosperitas Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Prosperitas Financial LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 55,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 450.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 38,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,687,000 after purchasing an additional 31,592 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $153.95 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $132.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.47. The stock has a market cap of $239.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $158.39.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Philip Morris International

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.