Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Reduces Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,560 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,325 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of PM stock traded up $2.08 on Friday, hitting $121.88. The stock had a trading volume of 5,165,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,837,312. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $134.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $125.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.19. The company has a market cap of $189.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

About Philip Morris International

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.