Proficio Capital Partners LLC Has $55.95 Million Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 19,207.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 464,926 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 462,518 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $55,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 203,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,452,000 after buying an additional 1,749 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC now owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,140,000 after buying an additional 3,550 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $270,000. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 59,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,186,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of PM opened at $153.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $239.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $158.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $132.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.47.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.