Merit Financial Group LLC Has $11.08 Million Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 56.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 92,054 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 33,040 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $11,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM opened at $121.88 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $125.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.35.

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.