Rahlfs Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 7,829 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Rahlfs Capital LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $942,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $1,204,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,878,000. First Western Trust Bank lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 6,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Forge Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 89.6% in the 4th quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 13,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,642,000 after acquiring an additional 6,451 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $150.47 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $163.08. The company has a market capitalization of $234.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $149.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.20.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.