Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Raises Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 193,451 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,910 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $23,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% during 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 last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centurion Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $155.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $241.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $159.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $145.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.91.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PM. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.