Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 6,325 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 19.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,325 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PM. State Street Corp increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after acquiring an additional 224,840 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,886,818,000 after purchasing an additional 621,034 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,752,000 after purchasing an additional 376,406 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,430,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,957,000 after purchasing an additional 469,806 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $121.88 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $125.59 and a 200-day moving average of $121.05. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15. The firm has a market cap of $189.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.35.

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.