Steph & Co. Trims Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Steph & Co. cut its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,467 shares of the company’s stock after selling 663 shares during the period. Steph & Co.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 4,999 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,125,000 after buying an additional 201,294 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $692,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE PM opened at $118.45 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.07. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15. The firm has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

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.