Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 104,881 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,176 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $12,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,715,237,000 after purchasing an additional 224,840 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the third 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 period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the third 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,752,000 after buying an additional 376,406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $155.26 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.81. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $158.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.43, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

About Philip Morris International

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.