Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 240,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,871 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $22,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 25,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at $1,251,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 1,529.8% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 4,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 4,467 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 5,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PM. UBS Group downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $96.04 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $92.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.25. The company has a market capitalization of $149.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.23 and a 1 year high of $100.70.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 101.56%.

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.