Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,715 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,240 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $11,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PM. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.7 %

PM stock traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $150.32. The company had a trading volume of 6,258,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,209,776. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $138.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.87. 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 capitalization of $233.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 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, analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid 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 3.59%. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is currently 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.