Essex Savings Bank Reduces Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Essex Savings Bank decreased its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,374 shares of the company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.3% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 14,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,447,000 after buying an additional 2,205 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,499,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 220,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,370,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Alliance grew its position in Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 28,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,844,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE PM opened at $118.45 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $134.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $125.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.07. The firm has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.35.

Philip Morris International 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.