Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 2,900 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 78,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $9,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PM. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 197,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,055,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 150,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,236,000 after purchasing an additional 8,526 shares in the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1,169.7% in the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 11,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 10,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 10,655,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,079,767,000 after purchasing an additional 736,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE PM opened at $119.78 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $134.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.05.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders 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 4.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.35.

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.