Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 89 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Dearborn Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Range Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after buying an additional 19,127 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,125,000 after acquiring an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after purchasing an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $560,164,000 after purchasing an additional 17,700 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $152.45 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $137.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.58. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51. The stock has a market cap of $237.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. As a group, equities research 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 disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

About Philip Morris International

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.