The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 74,592 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,115,862 shares of the company’s stock after selling 74,592 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.14% of Philip Morris International worth $254,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Range Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 19,127 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position 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 valued at $12,134,000 after buying an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted 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 worth $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 18,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 337,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,572,000 after acquiring an additional 20,390 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM stock opened at $170.19 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.82. The stock has a market cap of $264.90 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $94.42 and a one year high of $171.73.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders 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 3.17%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 111.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned 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 $163.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.