Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Acquires 1,375 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,832 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PM. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 113.8% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 357 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $151.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $236.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.64, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $163.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.20.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on PM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. 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 on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % 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. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.