Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Position Trimmed by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 310,455 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,849 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $37,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after buying an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $522,214,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 161.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value 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 sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.5 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $152.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $236.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $159.51. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.59.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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 research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began 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 for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus 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.