Gradient Investments LLC Sells 212 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Gradient Investments LLC lowered its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM – Get Rating) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock after selling 212 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,480,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,997,216,000 after buying an additional 1,451,582 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 100,951,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,379,979,000 after buying an additional 962,801 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Philip Morris International by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,777,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,868,937,000 after buying an additional 389,746 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Philip Morris International by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 35,468,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,944,500,000 after buying an additional 6,558,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 30,443,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,006,398,000 after buying an additional 476,875 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.85% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM stock opened at $94.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $146.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.69. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.85 and a 1 year high of $109.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $100.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.75.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.54 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 127.24% and a net margin of 11.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 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 Tuesday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 22nd. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.36%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PM. Jefferies Financial Group raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $118.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Societe Generale assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.73.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Stacey Kennedy sold 8,756 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.31, for a total transaction of $887,070.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,731 shares in the company, valued at $4,835,627.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Stacey Kennedy sold 8,756 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.31, for a total transaction of $887,070.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,731 shares in the company, valued at $4,835,627.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 80,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total value of $8,028,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,007,048 shares in the company, valued at $101,057,266.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 117,064 shares of company stock worth $11,738,763. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

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Philip Morris International, Inc is a holding company engaged in the manufacturing and sale of cigarettes, tobacco, and nicotine-containing products. Its products include cigarettes and reduced-risk products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: European Union, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, South and Southeast Asia, East Asia and Australia, and Americas.