North Star Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,555 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

North Star Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 49,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,555 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PM. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on PM. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $182.00 target price (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.20.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:PM opened at $178.23 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.93 and a 12 month high of $178.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.76. The company has a market capitalization of $277.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 111.34%.

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.