ING Groep NV Sells 279,849 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 324,684 shares of the company’s stock after selling 279,849 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $39,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dash Acquisitions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 213,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,472,000 after acquiring an additional 5,271 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 113.3% during the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth $361,000. Finally, Corps Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth $2,407,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.6 %

PM stock opened at $149.64 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $128.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.90. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $151.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.18, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their target price 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.22.

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.