RNC Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

RNC Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,609 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,699 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PM. PFG Investments LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 5,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,703,000 after buying an additional 2,501 shares in the last quarter. Rockwood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $1,523,000. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,604,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 2.0 %

PM opened at $92.23 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.23 and a twelve month high of $101.92. The company has a market cap of $143.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $91.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.48.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.08). Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 116.29% and a net margin of 8.53%. The firm had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 103.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 94,629 shares in the company, valued at $8,860,113.27. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,411,128 in the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.