Blue Trust Inc. Sells 3,248 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,756 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,248 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PM. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 71.4% during the third quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after buying an additional 4,999 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after buying an additional 19,127 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,125,000 after buying an additional 201,294 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,134,000 after buying an additional 16,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after buying an additional 6,605 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.0 %

PM stock opened at $150.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $234.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $151.22. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $127.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.89.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.24% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

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.