JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 383,982 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,914,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 383,982 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.73% of Philip Morris International worth $3,267,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PM. State Street Corp lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,715,237,000 after buying an additional 224,840 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,886,818,000 after acquiring an additional 621,034 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,752,000 after purchasing an additional 376,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 10,655,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,079,767,000 after purchasing an additional 736,961 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $121.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,379,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,342,252. The company has a market capitalization of $189.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $128.17 and a 200-day moving average of $119.13.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PM. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. 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 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.