New Century Financial Group LLC Acquires New Shares in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $549,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 283.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,186,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,583,000 after purchasing an additional 876,790 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 603,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,772,000 after purchasing an additional 13,416 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $1,251,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $857,000. Finally, AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $137,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of PM traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $101.42. 1,647,837 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,800,795. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.23 and a fifty-two week high of $104.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $100.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.08.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 21st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.13%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.