Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $67.53 Million Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 561,128 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,491 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $67,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CFO4Life Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 284,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,297,000 after acquiring an additional 49,547 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 664.6% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 497 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 93,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,240 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In related news, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total value of $4,465,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 139,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,705,779.25. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM opened at $150.32 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $138.50 and a 200-day moving average of $129.87. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $159.51. The company has a market capitalization of $233.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PM shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

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.