Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,445 shares of the company’s stock after selling 380 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 2,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the third quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 3,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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 cut their price target on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.22.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $148.85 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $151.22. The stock has a market cap of $231.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $127.91 and its 200-day moving average is $125.52.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 9.24%. Equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently 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.