HM Payson & Co. Decreases Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

HM Payson & Co. cut its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 45,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 798 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at $240,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,032,000. Banco Santander S.A. grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 104,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,546,000 after buying an additional 26,434 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,806,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,757,000 after purchasing an additional 77,088 shares during the period. Finally, Camden National Bank increased its position in Philip Morris International by 3.0% in the fourth 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 period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.6 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $151.05 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.00. The stock has a market cap of $234.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Company 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.