Independent Advisor Alliance Acquires 12,435 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,548 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,435 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $9,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PM. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,902,000 after buying an additional 5,846 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 16,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 8,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $986,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at $692,000. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 2,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $150.14 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $159.51. The company has a market capitalization of $233.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.29, 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 $136.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.35.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.