Ascent Capital Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Ascent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the 3rd 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 stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PM. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $151.95 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $159.51. The company 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $139.10 and its 200-day moving average is $130.14.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

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.