Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 11,832 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,762,518 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,832 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Philip Morris International worth $212,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.1% in the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Essex LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 197.1% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 5,165 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 47.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 226,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,506,000 after buying an additional 72,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PM. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of PM opened at $150.60 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $127.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.28. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $151.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 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 9.24%. As a group, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given 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 dividend yield of 3.59%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 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.