Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC Takes $243,000 Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in 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 during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PM. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $153.22. 4,237,779 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,165,023. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $159.51. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $134.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.43. The company has a market cap of $238.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is presently 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.