Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. trimmed its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,476 shares of the company’s stock after selling 807 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,416,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,495,794,000 after buying an additional 4,869,272 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position 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 worth $2,575,742,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121,732 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $282,785,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,439,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 216.1% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,691,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,227 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $101.33 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $100.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.93. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $104.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.57.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.13%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.22.

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.