PFG Advisors Trims Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

PFG Advisors lessened its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,986 shares of the company’s stock after selling 362 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after purchasing an additional 224,840 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,886,818,000 after buying an additional 621,034 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after buying an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after buying an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,422,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,615,449,000 after buying an additional 190,201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.0 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $151.95 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $159.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $139.10 and a 200-day moving average of $130.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

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.