Ritholtz Wealth Management Decreases Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Ritholtz Wealth Management decreased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 57.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,851 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,164 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 950.0% in the second quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at $882,050.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,411,128 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Societe Generale upgraded Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.40.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $91.59. The stock had a trading volume of 5,311,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,430,423. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.61. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $101.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $91.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.47.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 116.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.39 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.59%.

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.