Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Stock Position Cut by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,907,837 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,767,766 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.44% of Philip Morris International worth $831,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Centurion Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upped 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 Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $150.47 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $234.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $149.12 and its 200-day moving average is $133.35. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $163.08.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its 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 negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Philip Morris International 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.