True Wealth Design LLC Boosts Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 304.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 745 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the quarter. True Wealth Design LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $90,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total value of $4,465,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 139,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,705,779.25. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 126,822 shares of company stock valued at $18,906,185. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of PM stock opened at $170.38 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.93 and a 52 week high of $176.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.20 billion, a PE ratio of 37.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $160.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.33.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $9.30 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. Analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.33.

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.