Blair William & Co. IL Has $23.30 Million Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Blair William & Co. IL lowered its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,574 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,336 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $23,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of PM opened at $155.21 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.33 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PM. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.