South Dakota Investment Council Sells 4,400 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

South Dakota Investment Council cut its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,291 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,400 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $13,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PM. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 603,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,772,000 after acquiring an additional 13,416 shares during the period. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 5.5% in the third quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 147,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,655,000 after buying an additional 7,726 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 50,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 20,918 shares during the period. Chiron Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the third quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC now owns 354,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,825,000 after purchasing an additional 6,981 shares during the period. Finally, Country Club Bank GFN raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Country Club Bank GFN now owns 77,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,267,000 after purchasing an additional 13,546 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,050.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,411,128. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE PM traded up $3.60 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $97.66. The company had a trading volume of 13,103,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,646,268. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $91.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.10. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.23 and a 12 month high of $100.79. The stock has a market cap of $151.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.61.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 116.29% and a net margin of 8.53%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.32%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PM. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.40.

About Philip Morris International

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.