Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Cuts Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,971 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 79,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,477,000 after buying an additional 3,072 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 158.0% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 454 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 9,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $885,000 after acquiring an additional 2,780 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $986,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PM. UBS Group cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Argus reiterated 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 for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $95.02 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.20. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.23 and a 12-month high of $100.79. The stock has a market cap of $147.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.61.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm 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 9.83% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were 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 owns 94,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 94,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,250 shares of company stock worth $3,339,528 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.