Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Purchased by Congress Wealth Management LLC DE

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,875 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,642 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twin City Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,971 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,780,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,810 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,213,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,370,000 after purchasing an additional 146,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richwood Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of 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 lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,495,308.62. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total value of $4,465,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 139,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,705,779.25. The trade was a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in 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 $155.21 on Friday. 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 simple moving average is $145.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.91. 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 (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. As a group, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.