Exchange Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Exchange Bank grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,830 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Philip Morris International comprises about 1.1% of Exchange Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Exchange Bank’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PM. 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the 3rd 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 Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of 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 target price on shares of 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $121.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.61. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15. The company has a market cap of $189.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

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.