Birch Capital Management LLC Invests $84,000 in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Birch Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,125,000 after acquiring an additional 201,294 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at $692,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $560,164,000 after purchasing an additional 17,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 182.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 4,402 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE PM traded up $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $121.27. 1,544,353 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,306,260. The company has a market capitalization of $188.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.30.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on PM shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

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.