New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,373,909 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,330 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $165,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PM. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after buying an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after buying an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,936,000 after buying an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,467,000 after buying an additional 1,165,554 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 13,666.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 999,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,367,000 after buying an additional 992,467 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of PM opened at $149.27 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $150.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.24% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. On average, analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.56.

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.