Heritage Wealth Advisors Reduces Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Heritage Wealth Advisors lessened its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 78,906 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,698 shares during the quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $9,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Centurion Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $152.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $143.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.59.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.