Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,900 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $9,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 71.4% during the third quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company's stock worth $1,457,000 after buying an additional 4,999 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company's stock worth $2,758,000 after buying an additional 19,127 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company's stock worth $25,125,000 after buying an additional 201,294 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company's stock worth $12,134,000 after buying an additional 16,035 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company's stock worth $2,912,000 after buying an additional 6,605 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PM. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.35.

Insider Activity

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

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock traded up $2.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $121.88. The company's 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 fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $125.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.05. The firm has a market capitalization 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. Philip Morris International's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.