Wilkins Miller Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 1,979 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Wilkins Miller Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at about $522,214,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 372.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,453,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,303,000 after buying an additional 4,298,530 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after buying an additional 4,216,586 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after buying an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.20.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $178.23 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.93 and a 12-month high of $178.70. The company has a market cap of $277.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $162.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.89.

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

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 111.34%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

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

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.