Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by ERn Financial LLC

ERn Financial LLC reduced its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,736 shares of the company’s stock after selling 530 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.6% during the third quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Philip Morris International by 4.2% during the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 1.3% during the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.1% in the third quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 8,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.35.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value 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 represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM opened at $119.78 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

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.