Fmr LLC Lowers Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Fmr LLC lowered its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,047,732 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,120,714 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned about 1.42% of Philip Morris International worth $2,653,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $522,214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,241,837,000 after buying an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.6% in the 4th 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 period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $150.47 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $163.08. The company has a market cap of $234.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.27.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced 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 net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. As a group, analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.