Merit Financial Group LLC Has $11.08 Million Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 56.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,054 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,040 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $11,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International in the third quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PM. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:PM traded up $2.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $121.88. The company had a trading volume of 5,165,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,837,312. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.19. The stock has a market cap of $189.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.