Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 3,280 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 45.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,501 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,280 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 307.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.22.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PM traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $101.33. 6,854,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,498,665. The business’s 50 day moving average is $99.72 and its 200-day moving average is $94.82. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $104.90. The company has a market capitalization of $157.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.57.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 21st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.13%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

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.