Atlas Brown Inc. Lowers Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Atlas Brown Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,609 shares of the company’s stock after selling 333 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital & Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 2,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 264.9% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 252,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,394,000 after buying an additional 183,344 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PM. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price objective (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.20.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $180.74 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $165.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.93 and a 12 month high of $181.36.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.34%.

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.