Haverford Trust Co Sells 3,585 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Haverford Trust Co lessened its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 254,072 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,585 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $30,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 11,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 1,642 shares during the last quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,971 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,780,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,213,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,370,000 after purchasing an additional 146,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. The trade was a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on PM shares. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of PM opened at $151.25 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.22. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $159.51. The firm has a market cap of $235.16 billion, a PE ratio of 33.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

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 $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.