Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 115,614 shares of the company’s stock after selling 712 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $13,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 161.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,636 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 13,666.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 999,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,367,000 after purchasing an additional 992,467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays reduced their price target on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.22.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of PM opened at $154.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $240.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $129.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.45. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $154.64.

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 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.50%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Philip Morris International Company 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.