Swiss National Bank Trims Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,854,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 138,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $456,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PM. West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $285,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 7,815 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 13,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 4,459 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,250 shares of company stock worth $3,339,528. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.1 %

PM stock traded up $1.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $97.06. 1,370,705 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,708,456. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $100.70. The firm has a market cap of $150.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $92.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.25.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Societe Generale upgraded Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

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.