Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Acquired by Wulff Hansen & CO.

Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,260 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Philip Morris International comprises 1.1% of Wulff Hansen & CO.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Wulff Hansen & CO.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 2,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $153.79 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $159.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.10, 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PM. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Philip Morris International news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.