Wright Investors Service Inc. Lowers Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Wright Investors Service Inc. cut its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,455 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,452 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International makes up approximately 1.7% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $6,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 100,700.1% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,640,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,582,939,000 after acquiring an additional 15,624,628 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 33.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,587,542,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,089 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,575,742,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121,732 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 122.0% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,632,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,294,000 after buying an additional 1,446,567 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,940,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,368,000 after buying an additional 1,372,520 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.4 %

PM stock traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $90.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,061,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,434,125. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.02. The company has a market cap of $141.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.61. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $101.92.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.08). Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 116.29% and a net margin of 8.53%. The company had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total transaction of $457,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares in the company, valued at $9,412,880.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,412,880.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,411,128 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the topic of several research reports. Societe Generale upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.40.

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.