Meridian Wealth Partners LLC Increases Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,781 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the 4th 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 period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Centurion Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV boosted 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $151.25 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $142.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.