Stevens Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Stevens Capital Management LP reduced its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,373 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,580 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $522,214,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in 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 worth $1,934,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,987 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 161.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,170,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,432,000 after purchasing an additional 969,198 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $151.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $235.16 billion, a PE ratio of 33.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.18.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.