Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,373 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,031 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PM. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,251,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $137,000. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 50,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 20,918 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $97.45. The stock had a trading volume of 3,895,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,744,928. The company has a market cap of $151.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.35. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $100.70.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.50.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total transaction of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 102,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. 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 three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.