Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,715 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,240 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $11,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after buying an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $522,214,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,454 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,636 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % 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. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of PM opened at $151.23 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $137.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.73. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51. The firm has a market cap of $235.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced 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 net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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 on the stock. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

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.