Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Reduces Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 330,604 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,861 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $39,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price target 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, UBS Group boosted 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 note on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $154.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $239.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $141.09 and its 200 day moving average is $130.80.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.