First Financial Corp IN Sells 164 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

First Financial Corp IN reduced its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 13.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,024 shares of the company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Bremer Bank National Association lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Bremer Bank National Association now owns 2,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 73.1% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 23,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,745,000 after acquiring an additional 9,965 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 2,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 114,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,121,000 after purchasing an additional 22,110 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $182.78 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.93 and a twelve month high of $182.83. The firm has a market cap of $284.49 billion, a PE ratio of 40.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.27.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.20.

Philip Morris International Company 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.