HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Takes $5.54 Million Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 60,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,537,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Philip Morris International by 307.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,007,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,411,062. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $98.09 and its 200-day moving average is $94.39. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.23 and a twelve month high of $104.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.57.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 21st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

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.