Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA Sells 559 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA cut its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,872 shares of the company’s stock after selling 559 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 2.1% of Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PM. FMR LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 57.2% in 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 buying an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,936,000 after buying an additional 1,200,636 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,554 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 13,666.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 999,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,367,000 after acquiring an additional 992,467 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM opened at $150.60 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $127.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $151.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 9.24%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.56.

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.