Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,314 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,520 shares during the quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC increased 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 2,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total transaction of $4,465,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 139,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,705,779.25. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PM. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued 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 report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM opened at $152.12 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51. The company has a market cap of $236.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.95.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 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, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

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.