Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC Sells 196,300 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC lowered its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,190,200 shares of the company's stock after selling 196,300 shares during the period. Philip Morris International makes up approximately 7.1% of Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC owned 0.33% of Philip Morris International worth $624,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock traded down $0.65 on Tuesday, hitting $158.08. 4,363,464 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,478,317. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $159.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.79 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $146.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.43.

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Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. 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 3.42%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their position. 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.

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.