Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Makes New $1.25 Million Investment in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,251,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PM. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 33.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,587,542,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,089 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,575,742,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121,732 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,940,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,520 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 3,110,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,841,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,246,000 after purchasing an additional 958,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Societe Generale upgraded shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $95.02. 5,391,012 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,541,754. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $100.79. The company has a market capitalization of $147.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $91.90 and its 200-day moving average is $92.18.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.83% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.47%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.56%.

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.