Next Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Next Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,038 shares of the company’s stock after selling 627 shares during the quarter. Next Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $650,000. GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $949,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 110.8% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 10,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stokes Family Office LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 43,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,280,000 after purchasing an additional 3,953 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of PM opened at $153.79 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $159.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $140.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.64. The company has a market capitalization of $239.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.