Cardiff Park Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Cardiff Park Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,753 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,923 shares during the period. Cardiff Park Advisors LLC's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Range Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,758,000 after acquiring an additional 19,127 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,134,000 after buying an additional 16,035 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 18,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its position in Philip Morris International by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 337,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,572,000 after purchasing an additional 20,390 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $182.00 price target (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $170.86 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $265.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.65 and a fifty-two week high of $172.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.57.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 111.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.

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