Verus Capital Partners LLC Buys 922 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,706 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 922 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the third quarter valued at $58,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.9% in the third quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 54,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,642,000 after acquiring an additional 4,022 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 37.7% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 18,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,294,000 after acquiring an additional 5,178 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth about $315,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $155.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $241.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $132.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.74. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $158.39.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced 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, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.