Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,471 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,053 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PM. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,715,237,000 after acquiring an additional 224,840 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew 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 worth $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,752,000 after buying an additional 376,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after buying an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $156.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $242.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.81. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $156.63.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 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%. Analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.