Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Stock Position Boosted by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,306 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 126 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 26,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,087,000 after acquiring an additional 11,410 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 11,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 3,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 43,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,252,000 after buying an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ACT Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. ACT Advisors LLC. now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $118.41 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $125.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.07. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $134.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.39.

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.