Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Acquires 111 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,201 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. 49 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the third quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.2% during the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.3% during the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 8,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM opened at $118.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $125.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.07.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PM shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.39.

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.