Inspire Advisors LLC Makes New $257,000 Investment in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM stock opened at $151.23 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $137.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.73. The company has a market capitalization of $235.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a PEG 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.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (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, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

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.