Premier Fund Managers Ltd Trims Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd trimmed its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 87.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,572 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Range Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after acquiring an additional 19,127 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,134,000 after buying an additional 16,035 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after buying an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after buying an additional 18,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 337,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,572,000 after acquiring an additional 20,390 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PM. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $155.21 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $145.16 and a 200 day moving average of $131.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In related news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,495,308.62. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Company 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.