WealthShield Partners LLC Sells 1,144 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

WealthShield Partners LLC decreased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 29.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,754 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,144 shares during the quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PM. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,715,237,000 after acquiring an additional 224,840 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,886,818,000 after purchasing an additional 621,034 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,752,000 after purchasing an additional 376,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $156.13 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $156.63. The firm has a market cap of $242.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.81.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PM. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.22.

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.