Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Position Decreased by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,496,473 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,176,703 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International makes up about 2.6% of First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,142,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PM. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $522,214,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,636 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,795,295.48. The trade was a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM opened at $150.32 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $138.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.87. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51. The company has a market capitalization of $233.72 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on PM shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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 note on Friday, February 7th. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

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.