Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC cut its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 68.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,000 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 226,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,506,000 after purchasing an additional 72,757 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $373,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 83,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,102,000 after acquiring an additional 5,360 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $246,000. Finally, Axecap Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $334,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays dropped 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.22.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 transaction 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 $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:PM opened at $151.68 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $129.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.08. The firm has a market cap of $235.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $152.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 7.89%. Sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

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.