Maple Capital Management Inc. Invests $204,000 in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Maple Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM traded down $0.73 on Wednesday, reaching $153.22. The company had a trading volume of 4,238,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,168,678. The company's fifty day moving average is $134.82 and its 200-day moving average is $128.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $159.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is 119.73%.

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.