National Bank of Canada FI Sells 435,963 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

National Bank of Canada FI lessened its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 22.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,507,497 shares of the company’s stock after selling 435,963 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.10% of Philip Morris International worth $181,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $158.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $146.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.43. The stock has a market cap of $246.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a P/E/G 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 $159.87.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

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.