Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) CEO Jacek Olczak Sells 40,000 Shares

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at $81,495,308.62. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $154.39 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $154.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $129.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.36. The company has a market capitalization of $240.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PM. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its position in Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cravens & Co Advisors LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 10,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.22.

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.