Sandy Spring Bank Acquires 486 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sandy Spring Bank boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,101 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Range Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after acquiring an additional 19,127 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 18,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 182.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 4,402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $152.12 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $141.69 and a 200-day moving average of $130.95. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51. The firm has a market cap of $236.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. Morgan Stanley started 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 target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

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.