Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC Increases Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,852 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,162 shares during the period. Philip Morris International comprises 0.9% of Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $151.05 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $234.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.14.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released 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 negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

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.