HM Payson & Co. Trims Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

HM Payson & Co. lessened its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 798 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blankinship & Foster LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth $240,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,032,000. Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 104,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,546,000 after purchasing an additional 26,434 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,806,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,757,000 after purchasing an additional 77,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camden National Bank lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 3,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM opened at $151.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $136.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.00. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.