Great Lakes Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC cut its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 288,081 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,891 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $34,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $25,125,000 after purchasing an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position 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 worth $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position 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 worth $2,912,000 after purchasing an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position 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 worth $560,164,000 after purchasing an additional 17,700 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PM. UBS Group boosted their price target on 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of PM opened at $152.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $237.03 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.58. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $159.51.

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 the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

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

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.