Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Tufton Capital Management

Tufton Capital Management reduced its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,817 shares of the company’s stock after selling 223 shares during the quarter. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after buying an additional 4,999 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after buying an additional 19,127 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased 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 valued at $25,125,000 after buying an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after purchasing an additional 6,605 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total value of $4,465,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 139,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,705,779.25. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $153.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $239.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $132.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.47. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $158.39.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.