Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Reduces Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,313,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,387 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.21% of Philip Morris International worth $311,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 603,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,772,000 after purchasing an additional 13,416 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth about $11,288,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 147,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,655,000 after acquiring an additional 7,726 shares in the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC now owns 354,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,825,000 after acquiring an additional 6,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Country Club Bank GFN boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Country Club Bank GFN now owns 77,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,267,000 after acquiring an additional 13,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM opened at $88.85 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.61. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.23 and a one year high of $101.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $91.19 and a 200 day moving average of $92.08.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.08). Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 116.29%. The firm had revenue of $9.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.85%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 103.59%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total transaction of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at $882,050.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,250 shares of company stock worth $1,411,128 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PM shares. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Societe Generale upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.40.

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.