State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Sells 23,433 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury decreased its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 595,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,433 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $71,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Range Financial Group LLC increased its position 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. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,134,000 after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 18,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 337,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,572,000 after purchasing an additional 20,390 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.78.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $163.08 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $253.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.94 and a 52-week high of $165.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

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.