Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Bedel Financial Consulting Inc.

Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lessened its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 122 shares during the quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 161.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,554 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $158.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $246.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $158.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $133.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.18.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (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%. Analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. 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.