Simplicity Solutions LLC Increases Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,413 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $6,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at $27,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at $37,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,411,128. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.40.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $88.85 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $91.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.07. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.23 and a 12-month high of $101.92. The firm has a market cap of $138.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.61.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $9.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.59%.

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.