Korea Investment CORP Has $135.99 Million Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Korea Investment CORP decreased its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,129,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 57,434 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $135,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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 research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began 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 for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % 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 valued at $19,655,585 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:PM opened at $154.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $159.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $144.45 and a 200-day moving average of $131.75.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. As a group, analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.