State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Sells 23,433 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 595,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,433 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $71,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at $522,214,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216,586 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,241,837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM opened at $163.08 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.94 and a 1-year high of $165.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $153.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted 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 negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PM shares. Barclays upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.78.

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.