Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,559,328 shares of the company’s stock after selling 226,750 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.10% of Philip Morris International worth $187,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at $522,214,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,121,932,000 after buying an additional 3,363,454 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after buying an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,200,636 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $155.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $241.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $139.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.42. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Philip Morris International 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.