Horizon Investments LLC Acquires 616 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,335 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Drive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 45,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,554,000 after buying an additional 3,669 shares during the period. Chesapeake Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.1% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 4,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the third quarter worth $382,000. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 15.3% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 16,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,022,000 after acquiring an additional 2,210 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $153.79 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $140.44 and a 200-day moving average of $130.64.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS 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 forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

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.