Premier Fund Managers Ltd Sells 51,572 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd cut its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 87.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 51,572 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $900,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the third 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. bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.56.

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Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM traded down $0.75 on Tuesday, reaching $157.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,444,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,466,981. The company's fifty day moving average is $146.57 and its 200-day moving average is $132.43. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $159.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is 119.73%.

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.