Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Purchases 1,816 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 71,294 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,816 shares during the quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $8,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PM. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in 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 raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 2,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $152.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.95. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % 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 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Philip Morris International

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.