Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC Acquires Shares of 1,500 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 56,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,828,000 after purchasing an additional 10,703 shares during the last quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 94,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after acquiring an additional 9,789 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Finally, Symmetry Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth $1,966,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price target (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.20.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $182.42 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $166.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.52. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.93 and a fifty-two week high of $183.94. The company has a market cap of $283.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.34%.

Philip Morris International 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.