Legal & General Group Plc Sells 2,767,766 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 28.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,907,837 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,767,766 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $831,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $522,214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,241,837,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,249,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,714,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $150.47 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $163.08. The company has a market cap of $234.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.35.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of 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 given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

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.