Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Chairman Sells $6,058,245.58 in Stock

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM traded up $2.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $153.86. The stock had a trading volume of 3,374,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,616,010. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $129.26 and its 200 day moving average is $126.08. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $154.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.55.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,780,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,810 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after acquiring an additional 4,216,586 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after acquiring an additional 224,840 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on PM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price target on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.22.

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.