Avior Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,777 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PM. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM opened at $127.28 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $125.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

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.