Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Stake Cut by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 85.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,889 shares of the company’s stock after selling 280,581 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM traded down $0.84 during trading on Thursday, reaching $100.23. 325,748 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,537,585. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $94.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.23 and a fifty-two week high of $101.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,250 shares of company stock worth $3,339,528. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Societe Generale raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.