Berkeley Capital Partners LLC Decreases Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Berkeley Capital Partners LLC cut its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,163 shares of the company’s stock after selling 888 shares during the period. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM opened at $154.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $239.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $159.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.80.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Equities analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.