Titleist Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Titleist Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 802 shares during the quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at about $522,214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,241,837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,785,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,249,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,714,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 7.2 %

PM stock opened at $150.47 on Monday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $163.08. The stock has a market cap of $234.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $149.12 and its 200 day moving average is $133.35.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.59%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on PM shares. Morgan Stanley began 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

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.