First Western Trust Bank Buys 85 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

First Western Trust Bank boosted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,985 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PM. Forge Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 89.6% during the fourth quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 13,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 6,451 shares during the last quarter. Resolute Advisors LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $242,000. Yoffe Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth $590,000. Finally, Huber Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 107,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,981,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on PM. UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $162.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $252.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.03. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $163.08.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. As a group, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 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.