Financial Counselors Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Financial Counselors Inc. lessened its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 310,455 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,849 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $37,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $152.37 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $159.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $143.74 and a 200-day moving average of $131.59. The company has a market cap of $236.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS 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 predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 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.