Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Holdings Cut by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd cut its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,516,409 shares of the company’s stock after selling 266,602 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International comprises about 2.2% of Perpetual Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $182,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:PM opened at $121.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $189.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $125.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.47. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.