Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,053 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the third 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. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE PM opened at $153.22 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $134.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.60.

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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio 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.