Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Stake Lessened by Columbia Asset Management

Columbia Asset Management trimmed its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PM. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $158.08 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.66.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

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.