West Family Investments Inc. Acquires 273 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

West Family Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,948 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Range Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after acquiring an additional 19,127 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,125,000 after acquiring an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,134,000 after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth about $692,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 $15,795,295.48. The trade was a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM stock opened at $153.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $239.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $159.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.78.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on PM shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.