Independent Advisor Alliance Purchases 12,435 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,548 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,435 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $9,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes 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 acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 3.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Detalus Advisors LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $150.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $233.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $136.66 and its 200-day moving average is $129.35. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

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.