Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. Has $1.45 Million Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. trimmed its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,083 shares of the company’s stock after selling 185 shares during the period. Philip Morris International comprises approximately 1.1% of Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Range Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after buying an additional 19,127 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 18,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 337,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,572,000 after purchasing an additional 20,390 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $155.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $145.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.14. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $159.51. The firm has a market cap of $241.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of 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, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

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.