Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 75.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,001 shares of the company's stock after selling 118,357 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $3,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IRON Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $715,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 100,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,252,000 after acquiring an additional 8,842 shares during the last quarter. Busey Bank boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Busey Bank now owns 190,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sky Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC now owns 84,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,766,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares of the company's stock, valued at $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 9,726 shares of the company's stock, valued at $882,050.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded down $0.24 on Monday, reaching $99.59. 4,796,738 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,597,786. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $101.46. The company has a market cap of $154.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.60. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $94.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.01.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PM. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Societe Generale upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $87.50 price target 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.50.

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.

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