Securian Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 83,565 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,428 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $10,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 19,127 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,125,000 after purchasing an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after purchasing an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $560,164,000 after purchasing an additional 17,700 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 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. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $152.45 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.58. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $159.51. The firm has a market cap of $237.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group upped 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped 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, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

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.