NS Partners Ltd Lowers Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

NS Partners Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 89,273 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,701 shares during the period. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $10,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at $4,032,000. Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 104,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,546,000 after buying an additional 26,434 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,806,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,757,000 after buying an additional 77,088 shares during the last quarter. Camden National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 3,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RKL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,111,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $151.05 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $159.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $136.06 and a 200-day moving average of $129.00. The company has a market cap of $234.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

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.