Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 1,038 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,776 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,038 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,780,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,810 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,752,926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216,586 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the fourth 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,185,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,262,000 after buying an additional 516,617 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other 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 value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:PM opened at $173.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.94. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.65 and a 12 month high of $173.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $269.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.41, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.34%.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

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.