Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,310 shares of the company’s stock after selling 308 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 2,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Detalus Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PM opened at $153.22 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $134.82 and its 200 day moving average is $128.60. The company has a market capitalization of $238.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.97, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 issued its 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 negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. Equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total value of $4,465,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 139,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,705,779.25. The trade was a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PM shares. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.