Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,475 shares of the company’s stock after selling 724 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $158.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $133.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.18. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $158.85. The company has a market capitalization of $246.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. The trade was a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PM. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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 report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.