Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Mystic Asset Management Inc.

Mystic Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,879 shares of the company’s stock after selling 383 shares during the quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PM. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 2,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PM. UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $155.49 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $159.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $139.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. Analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share 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 paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.