Premier Fund Managers Ltd Sells 51,572 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 87.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,572 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $900,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during 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 period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Centurion Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.6 %

PM stock opened at $155.21 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $145.16 and its 200 day moving average is $131.91. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51. The stock has a market cap of $241.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 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, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 target price for the company. 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 upped 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. Finally, Barclays raised their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.