Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $69.11 Million Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. trimmed its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 574,249 shares of the company’s stock after selling 168,355 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $69,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.8% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 320,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,874,000 after acquiring an additional 8,754 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 32,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after acquiring an additional 9,391 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 208,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,342,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Finally, Covey Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth about $704,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $155.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $241.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $145.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.10.

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

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.