Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,559,328 shares of the company’s stock after selling 226,750 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $187,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,886,818,000 after purchasing an additional 621,034 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Philip Morris International by 21.0% during 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, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,422,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,615,449,000 after buying an additional 190,201 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $155.49 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $139.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.42. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51. The stock has a market cap of $241.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released 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 net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. As a group, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently 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.