Valmark Advisers Inc. Boosts Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,470 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target 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 boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $150.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $127.47 and a 200-day moving average of $125.28. The company has a market cap of $234.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $151.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share 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 9.24%. Analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

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.