Vestcor Inc Sells 2,661 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Vestcor Inc reduced its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,221 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,661 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PM. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth $522,214,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.6 %

PM stock opened at $151.23 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $137.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.73. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

About Philip Morris International

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.