Wambolt & Associates LLC Trims Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Wambolt & Associates LLC reduced its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,234 shares of the company’s stock after selling 717 shares during the quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Range Financial Group LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after buying an additional 19,127 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after purchasing an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Philip Morris International by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,485,000 after purchasing an additional 18,183 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 182.4% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 4,402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $151.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $235.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.40. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PM. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International 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.