Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 541,611 shares of the company’s stock after selling 789 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $50,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PM. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,587,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,089 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,575,742,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121,732 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,940,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372,520 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 3,110,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,841,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,246,000 after purchasing an additional 958,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 94,629 shares in the company, valued at $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock worth $3,339,528 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM traded up $0.09 on Friday, hitting $97.40. The company had a trading volume of 5,611,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,838,263. The company has a market capitalization of $151.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.23 and a 12-month high of $100.70. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $92.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.28.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.34%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Societe Generale upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.50.

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.