United Asset Strategies Inc. Has $6.73 Million Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 71,498 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,890 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $6,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 603,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,772,000 after purchasing an additional 13,416 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth about $11,288,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 147,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,655,000 after buying an additional 7,726 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 50,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,785,000 after buying an additional 20,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chiron Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC now owns 354,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,825,000 after buying an additional 6,981 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on PM. Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.40.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PM stock traded up $0.72 on Tuesday, hitting $89.32. 1,249,812 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,457,693. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.61. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.23 and a one year high of $101.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $91.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.05.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.08). Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 116.29% and a net margin of 8.53%. The company had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.82%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,250 shares of company stock worth $1,411,128 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.