Choate Investment Advisors Has $989,000 Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Choate Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 122.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,214 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,517 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PM. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% in 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 period. 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 worth $447,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 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 worth $302,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Intergy Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $151.95 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.19. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $159.51. The firm has a market cap of $236.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, 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 data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. Analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business 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 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 3.55%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.