Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 69.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,850 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,050 shares during the period. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company's stock worth $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $522,214,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 372.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,453,285 shares of the company's stock worth $656,303,000 after buying an additional 4,298,530 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company's stock worth $14,752,926,000 after buying an additional 4,216,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after buying an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM traded down $1.05 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $163.78. 5,939,809 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,597,580. The stock has a market cap of $254.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $159.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.42. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.93 and a 52-week high of $176.49.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is presently 111.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $166.33.

Philip Morris International 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.