Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 33,040 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 56.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,054 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,040 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $11,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 112.5% during the 4th quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 6,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $825,000 after acquiring an additional 3,627 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 4,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 72.4% during the fourth quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 11,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 4,910 shares during the last quarter. Capital Planning LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Planning LLC now owns 2,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 7,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $121.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $189.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $125.59 and a 200-day moving average of $121.05.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.35.

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.