Cannell & Co. Sells 558 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Cannell & Co. decreased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,144 shares of the company’s stock after selling 558 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Co.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Philip Morris International by 158.0% in the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 454 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $96.04 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $92.23 and a 200 day moving average of $92.25. The company has a market cap of $149.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.23 and a 12-month high of $100.70.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.41%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.