Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,852 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,162 shares during the period. Philip Morris International comprises 0.9% of Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PM. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $522,214,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after buying an additional 3,363,454 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,083,000 after buying an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,936,000 after buying an additional 1,200,636 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:PM opened at $151.05 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51. The firm has a market cap of $234.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $136.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.14.

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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.