Insider Selling: Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) CFO Sells $4,465,500.00 in Stock

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total transaction of $4,465,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 139,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,705,779.25. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $154.39 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $154.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.52.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.22.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

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

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.