First Horizon Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 217,583 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,849 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $26,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after buying an additional 6,721,094 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after buying an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 161.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,936,000 after buying an additional 1,200,636 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,467,000 after buying an additional 1,165,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 13,666.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 999,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,367,000 after buying an additional 992,467 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.9 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $154.39 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $154.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.22.

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.