Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 69.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,884 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,535 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,715,237,000 after buying an additional 224,840 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,886,818,000 after buying an additional 621,034 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after buying an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,083,000 after buying an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,422,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,615,449,000 after buying an additional 190,201 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on PM. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $151.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.07.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued 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 negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.